Review Club Vol 1 by Half Hollow Hills Schools

The Half Hollow Hills Review Club Presents

The Ratings An absolute classic for All TIME. The absolute best you can ever get! Exemplifies perfection!

Near perfection. Will be remembered in the future and will be an example of what greatness is all about. Great! Amazing! A Superb piece of work! Totally memorable and worth the money.

Wow! Wonderful! Very, very good. A must. Now this is GOOD. damned good!

Maybe not special, but

Average, but enjoyable. Fair. You MAY like it, but you’re not really missing anything.

Not good. Don’t bother. Poor. Worthless junk.

½ star

So horrific, it is painful to endure.

0 stars

Beyond Abysmal. So bad it is insulting. Who is the idiot that allowed this to be produced?!

This issue is now found ONLINE at the Half Hollow Hills website. Go to: Schools – Candlewood – Clubs and Activities – HHH Review Club

http://www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny. us/page.cfm?p=977519

The Half Hollow Hills Review Club Spring 2011 Volume 6 Issue 1

Table of Contents Topic

The Ratings Movie Reviews – 2010 Oscar Nominees

Page

3 8

Features: Reviews of top movies of 2010 –The King’s Speech, The Social Network, Inception, Toy Story 3, The Fighter, and more …

FEATURE: We ask the Club & Staff – What movie SHOULD have won Best Picture 17 2010 Movies-A Year in Review 18 Movie Reviews 24 Features: How to Train Your Dragon, Grown Ups, Vampires Suck, Green Hornet, Iron Man 2, Red, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Dilemma, Karate Kid, Just Go with It, Tangled, Megamind, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, The Other Guys, & much more…

Movie Flashbacks – A look back at the movies of 2005, 2000, 1995, 1990, 1985, 1980, 1975… 84 Features: The Willy Wonka-New vs. Old, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Dances with Wolves, Back to the Future, Airplane, The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Seven, Castaway, Crash, Braveheart, Edward Scissorhands, Jaws, and more…

FEATURE: We ask the Club & Staff – What are WORST sequels EVER? 120 Credits – Meet the Review Club 122 Photograph Pages: 6, 23, 83, 119, 126

Wanted!!! Critics for the Review Club Attention Half Hollow Hills We need critics New members are always welcome

Movies, Music, Broadway, Restaurants, Vacations, Books,

Sports If you are interested please contact by eboard or stop by Room 710 in Candlewood MS and talk to

Mr. Bund or you can contact

Mrs. Silberman in High School East Room 105

MEET the REVIEW CLUB

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees For the second year in a row, The Academy offered us 10 movies to consider for best picture: From the highly successful “The Social Network” based on Facebook to the mind-bending reality and effects of “Inception,” to the remake of a John Wayne classic “True Grit” to the brilliantly acted “The King’s Speech” to the harrowing true story of “127 Hours” to the 3rd installment of the kid’s classic “Toy Story 3” to the disturbing world of “Black Swan” to the search for an unknown father in “Winter’s Bone” to the entertaining and moving “The Kids are All Right” to the Rocky-like, against-all-odds true story of “The Fighter”

It seemed like there was something for everyone

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Oscar winner for the Best Picture of 2010 The Kings Speech ½ This really wasn’t the best movie ever. Truthfully, this was a very slow and boring movie. But there were good parts to the movie also. For example, I thought it was interesting how the speech therapist helped the king to overcome his disability. He made the king listen to a recording of himself while listening to music. The speech therapist was an amazing actor and he was really funny too. Colin Firth also did an amazing job as King George. It is very difficult to act as someone who stutters, and Colin Firth did extremely well. This movie was boring because there were very few exciting parts in the movie. Most of the exciting parts in the movie occurred in the speech therapist’s house. – Anya Pawar

Brilliantly acted all around, with a good and engaging story - all without any special effects. Was the best picture of 2010? If you what you are looking for action – than this is not the movie for you. If you are looking for top notch acting performances – look no further. – Mr. Bund 8

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

The Fighter

The Fighter was definitely deserving of its Best Picture nomination. The acting of Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg was fantastic. It is a story about a boxer and his famous retired crack-head brother and his personal struggles. He had to choose between his family and his dreams to become champion. There was also great supporting acting by Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. This is one of the greatest movies of the year. Now this was a great movie. Mark Wahlberg was good, but Christian Bale stole the show with a brilliant portrayal of his brother – a strung-out, crack addicted, ex-boxer. And Wahlberg’s family was such trash I just hated them – i n other words, they were perfect. You could make a very good argument that this really was the best movie of 2011. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

The Social Network

Fincher strikes again. The combination of Eisenberg and Timberlame brought 2010 out of the dark ages of movie history. The intensity of the film was like a fire cracker. The script by Aaron Sorvin was unbelievable. This was the best movie of 2010. – Miles Essner. This movie was different, but it was great. It is full of action but it has a great plot. This movie might be hard to understand, but I like the flashbacks. This movie is special. It is impossible to forget this movie. – Justin Wieder This movie was OK. It had some great actors like Justin Timberlake. There are some bad parts in the middle, but it tells you how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. I wouldn’t say that this movie should earn a slot in the best picture, because it was not very appealing, but it seems like it should win an Oscar for something. Jesse Eisenberg was not very good at acting as Mrak Zuckerberg. – Jonathan Reichfield I'm being considerate here. In reality, I would give it no stars. It was too confusing. Is it the past or the present? Also the whole movie seemed as if it was repeating it's self. I don't think the plot was good either. All it's about is facebook and the whole history of it. If you like confusing movies that make you think pick this one. Michelle Zhang

Overrated. It’s a good movie, but it didn’t deserve an Oscar. Half of the story was made up and the idea of a movie about Facebook is stupid to begin with. Mark Zuckerberg turns an entire generation into zombies and he gets a movie deal. The only really good parts were the music and Justin Timberlake’s character - and he’s only likeable because he’s so over the top. It’s worth seeing, but it is not worth the gold. – Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

The Social Network - continued ½

The Social Network is a movie about the founders of the Internet social networking site, Facebook. I saw the movie on opening weekend with my family and we loved it. The movie is based on a book and is the story of Mark Zuckerburg, a Harvard student, who invented Facebook in 2004. Mark is a brilliant computer major who often gets into trouble at school. The role of Mark, an antisocial computer geek, is played by Jesse Eisenberg. While at Harvard, Mark and his friend, Eduardo (Andrew Garfield), think up a plan to develop a social network for Harvard students only. The idea soon becomes popular and expands to other schools and is known as Facebook. Other Harvard students claim that the Facebook idea was originally theirs and sue Mark. While Eduardo tries to get investors so that Facebook could expand, they meet Sean Parker, the inventor of Napster, played by Justin Timberlake. Sean is a slimy guy and arranges investors for Facebook, but forces Eduardo out of the business. Eduardo also later sues Mark for his part of Facebook. The movie’s dialog is great and shows the wild, crazy, real life of college students on campus. This was a great and funny movie. Mark Zuckerburg is a true genius and made Facebook enjoyable all over the world. – Kara Rofe The Social Network was a really good movie. It sheds a new light on something that has become a huge thing in today’s society. It details the creation of Facebook from the first small idea to the lawsuits that Mark Zuckerberg faced that were placed on him by his friends and the people who helped him start Facebook. The movie details his time in college while creating Facebook very well. The story is told as mostly flashbacks, while at the various lawsuits. The story is told very well, and keeps you interested the whole time. - Eric Hechler

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.93 stars

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Inception

Movie of the year! The characters are likeable, the story is original, and it has your attention until the end. I wasn’t as confused as people said I would be. I saw it three times just because it was so good. – Nick Frankel This movie is a thriller! It shows you all the weird things that happen in dreams. Leo DiCaprio was fantastic! He was perfect for this movie! The movie had great graphics. Yes, some of it was hard to understand, but by the end, it gets you wondering about the whole movie. I even remembered some things that happened to me during a dream! This movie really made you think, and that’s why it was such a good movie. I liked how it wasn't a, "I can guess the ending" movie. This might be scary for children (sorry kids,) but if you are not scared of it, and you do understand it, then it would be a great movie for you! - Jason Zelamsky

Throughout the movie, there were many good, exhilarating, action parts. However, Inception was probably the most confusing movie I have ever watched. The movie was about a dream, inside a dream, inside a dream, and so on and so forth. I watched this movie literally 6 times and still was not able to comprehend it. The actors did a fantastic job but the story of the movie made no sense at all. If you wish to see this movie, I strongly recommend seeing it more then once. - Jason Liang

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Inception - continued Brilliant! Original! Unpredictable! – Mr. Bund This movie was great.

It was very hard to understand in the beginning. It is a type of movie that you need to see twice to fully understand. There is a bt of drama but if you are over the age of 13, it will be great. Every second was important & I could not leave my seat. It was a movie that people can remember. - Justin Wieder

This movie is amazing. It has something for everybody to enjoy, like action, suspense, drama and it really keeps you guessing. The best part was right at the end because…I do not want to ruin the ending. The movie makes you want to watch more and try to figure out more. – Dylan Dicicco

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 3.58 stars

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Toy Story 3

½ The perfect follow up to the previous Toy Story. It took them eleven years but they did it. All the classic characters voiced by an ensemble cast are finally back. However, it’s very dramatic and goes as far as almost to kill them. But in the end, it’s an amazing movie and I would kill for every sequel to be as good as this. – Nick Frankel A fantastic movie! The Toy Story series has always been my favorite, but out of the three this was the best! It shows how Andy even though he is a college kid now (don't call him a baby!) still loves his toys and his childhood. The ending to me was really gripping since I love the series. - Matthew Garber ½ Toy Story 3 had an interesting plot. All the original toys are back and some new toys are introduced. Andy is going to college and some of the toys think that Andy doesn’t care about them anymore or that he forgot about them. But they all want to be played with again like he did when he was young. Everyone except for Woody. Woody believes in Andy and knows that Andy still cares about his toys. Some of the toys included Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead, Bullseye, and more. Either way, something went wrong and the toys were almost thrown out! All the toys got very mad and sneaked into a box labeled “Donation to a Daycare.” But not Woody. Andy was going to take him to college with him. Everything would work out, but Woody went to rescue the others and got into the box too! Now, the toys have to get Woody back home before Andy leaves for college. The new characters make this task much, much harder. Does Woody get home? What happens to the other toys? This movie was average, but I did enjoy it. I would recommend this movie because it has an emotional ending. Dana Winthrop

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Toy Story 3 - continued ¼ I remember watching Toy Story 1 and 2 when I was a toddler. I enjoyed those movies, and kept on watching them for a few years. It’s been 10 years since Toy Story 2, and Pixar’s most known toys return in Toy Story 3. Is Toy Story 3 a near perfect movie that will make people of all ages want to see it? Or is it a terrible preschool-age toddler movie that will end the series in a failure? The answer: Somewhere in-between. The movie takes place 10 years after Toy Story 2, so Andy (The toys’ owner) plans to leave for college. Most of the toys are certain that Andy won’t take them to college, so all the toys leave to got to Sunnyside Day School. At Sunnyside, the Toy Story toys meet new toys, who pretend to become friends with them. The new toys trick them into a room where the kids are too small and break the toys. Woody (Andy’s favorite toy) hadn’t gave up on Andy, so he escapes Sunnyside, to go home. Will Woody find Andy? Will the other toys survive? In my opinion, Toy Story 3 is a so-so sequel. The plot wasn’t as good as the first two movies. I didn’t like the new toys. To me, they were forgettable. The first scene had some pretty good action. The movie had some unusual plot twists. I enjoyed some of the scenes in the second half of the movie, which were pretty decent. Toy Story 3 isn’t bad, but I think the movie was geared towards 3-8 year olds, who probably haven’t seen the first two Toy Story movies. A little bit of the plot was also geared towards parents with kids leaving for college. The humor in Toy Story 3 isn’t funny for Middle School kids, and you don’t have to know anything about the other Toy Story movies to enjoy the movie. Despite being more of a kid’s movie, teens can still watch the movie without being bored. I would’ve normally given this movie 2 stars, but the ending to the movie (and the series) was well done. I won’t give away big spoilers if you haven’t seen this movie, but, at the end, the bond between Child/Toy and Parent/Toy Owner gets put to the test. Toy Story 3 was an O.K movie that brought a close to a memorable series. - Matthew Bielskas

Movie Reviews

2010 Best picture Nominees

Toy Story 3 - continued ¾ Toy Story 3 is the final movie in the Toy Story series. The movie takes place further in the future than the previous two. Andy is now grown up and is heading to college. He decides to take only Woody to college and put the rest of the toys in the attic. However after a mix up, the toys end up going to Sunnyside Daycare along with Woody. Sunnyside is full of fun toys and places with Lotso as their leader. During the day Lotso is a happy friendly leader, but at night, the strawberry smelling bear isn’t so sweet. The whole daycare becomes a high security center with Buzz captured and the toys shoved in “jail”. Deciding Lotso is a toy tyrant; the toys attempt to escape. With Andy heading to college soon, the toys have little time to get Woody back to home. This movie seemed to bring the whole series together. It was funny, happy, and had a surprising ending. The aspects of the film I liked the most were the inclusion of new toys like Lotso, Cupcake, Trixie, Mr.Pricklepants, etc. Also some new toys were a great addition. It added a new twist to the story and it paid off. Also, I liked the whole jail break scene which showed thrilling fast-pace action. The best reason to see this movie is because it is great for kids and adults alike. Everyone will find something to enjoy in this story. So like the toys, don’t get left behind and see Toy Story 3. - Ryan Winthrop

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 3.20 stars 16

What Movie SHOULD have won the OSCAR for BEST PICTURE OF 2010 Black Swan – Mrs. Turner True Grit – Mrs. Carlsen The Fighter – Mrs. Harvey Black Swan – Mrs. Cassata The King’s Speech – Mrs. Shaw The King’s Speech – Mrs. Gacek The Kings’s Speech – Jedrlinic Great period piece and a movie that depends largely on dialogue. So encouraging... to see its success as it has NO special effects. The Social Netwrok – Mrs. Prinzevalli The Social Network – Mr. Berler

2010 – A Year in Review

How many have YOU seen??? January 2010 Daybreakers Youth in Revolt The Spy Next Door The Book of Eli Legion Tooth Fairy Extraordinary Measures When in Rome Edge of Darkness The Lovely Bones February 2010 Dear John From Paris with Love The Wolfman Valentine;’s Day Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lighting Thief Shutter Island The Ghost Writer The Good Guy Cop Out The Yellow Handkerchief A Prophet March 2010 Alice in Wonderland Brooklyn’s Finest The Secret Book of Kells Green Zone Greenberg Remember Me She’s Out of My League Our Family Wedding The Bounty Hunter Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Runaways Repo Man The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo How to Train Your Dragon Hot Tub Time Machine

April 2010 Clash of the Titans The Last Song Date Night Kick-Ass Death at a Funeral The Joneses The Perfect Game The Losers The Back-up Plan Oceans A Nightmare on Elm Street Furry Vengeance Harry Brown May 2010 Iron Man 2 Robin Hood Letters to Juliet Shrek Forever After MacGruber Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Sex and the City 2 June 2010 Killers Get Him to the Greek Marmaduke Splice Ondine The A-Team The Karate Kid Jonah Hex Grown Ups July 2010 Eclipse The Last Airbender Despicable Me Predators The Sorcererâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Apprentice Inception Salt Valhalla Rising Dinner for Schmucks Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

August 2010 The Other Guys Eat Pray Love Scott Pilgrim vs. the World The Expendables Tales from Earthsea Nanny McPhee Returns Piranha Vampires Suck Lottery Ticket The Switch Takers The Last Exorcism Centurion Avatar re-release September 2010 The American The Tillman Story Going the Distance The Winning Season Resident Evil: Afterlife I’m Still Here The Virginity Hit The Town Devil Alpha and Omega Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps You Again Legend of the Guardians Waiting for ‘Superman’ October 2010 The Social Network Let Me In Case 39 Life as We Know It Secretariat My Soul to Take Stone Jackass 3-D Red Paranormal Activity 2 Saw 3D

November 2010 Megamind Due Date 127 Hours Unstoppable Morning Glory Skyline Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1 The Next Three Days Tangled Faster December 2010 Black Swan The Tourist Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Tempest Tron: Legacy Yogi Bear How Do You Know Little Fockers True Grit Somewhere Gulliverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Travels Casino Jack

What were your FAVORITE MOVIES OF 2010?????? Avatar, Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part I – Jason Liang

The Grown Ups, The Town (Parents) – Jeremiah Sullivan

1. Grown-ups 2. The Expendables 3. How to train your dragon 4. The Spy next door. 5. Gullivers travels – Nick Kohlhepp 7 How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, Easy A, Tangled – Gabrielle Jung Red – Mrs. Cassata The Fighter – Mrs. Harvey The Girl Who Kicked the Hornest's Nest – Mrs. Turner Red – Mr. Berler The King’s Speech – Mrs. Jedrlinic The Town – Mr. Sydor The Town and The Kids are Alright Prinzevalli Inception – Mrs. Shaw

- Mrs.

Movie Reviews

How to Train Your Dragon This movie is fascinating (especially in 3D). It shows the relationship of a teenager and his dragon. The teenager named Hiccup wants to be a Viking (like everyone else), but just can’t. Vikings kills dragons. When Hiccup met Toothless (his dragon), they became so close. If you still haven’t seen this movie, then GO SEE IT! Believe me, you won’t regret it. - Tara Ranjbar

When I first entered the movie theater, I had no idea the movie I was about to see was going to be so funny, brilliant, beautifully animated and awesome. I was expecting just another cute DreamWorks flick, nothing substantial, just something to while the vacation hours away. I was totally wrong. The characters in How to Train Your Dragon are hilarious, from their names, to their voices, to their physical appearance. The young protagonist Hiccup is engaging and likeable; he makes you root for him even though he is just the Viking equivalent of a wimpy nerd. The dialogue between the characters is witty and clever. The animation is stunning: the viewer truly loses them self in this beautiful world of dragons. The flying scenes are breathtaking. This is one of the movies you should see in 3D. The effects are woven seamlessly into an entertaining plot and likeable characters. The best part was also the truest part: the love between a boy and his pet as they go on adventures together. While most will go to see the Miley Cyrus chick flick The Last Song or see supreme powers collide in Clash of the Titans, I am a staunch supporter in what I believe to be one of the greatest animated movies we’ve seen in a while. – Grace Segers It’s a great one. It is lots of fun, fabulous 3D and a great screenplay. It is another great Dreamworks masterpiece. I recommend this movie. – Daniel Rudin

Movie Reviews How to Train Your Dragon - continued This movie was a fun, exciting and adventurous. It’s a must see. The plot was intriguing and there was a bit of humor too, but for the most part, it was a good story. This is great in 3-D. You would probably see this in a top 10 movie awards. – Tanner Asadorian Not too often do DreamWorks movies create an enjoyable experience for middle schoolers, but this one was quite the opposite. When I went to see it, I was expecting childish comedy, but I got a touching, humorous and enchanting movie. The 3D was the icing on the cake and gave that movie the extra ½ star. Basically, you will not find many problems with this movie. – Anthony Passela Wow! Great movie, it was both cute and humorous at the same time. Basically, it’s about a scrawny boy named Hiccup who lives in a dragon hunting Viking village. He is so excited to kill and hunt dragons, until he sees a rare, hurt, and abandoned dragon in the woods. He nurtures it back to health and develops a strong friendship with his new friend Toothless. Since he has experienced dragons in person, he knows how to handle them and excels in dragon hunting school. He, having a crush on a girl named Astrid, eventually reveals his secret and has to convince his village of the innocence of the dragons and danger they are in. Along with his friends from dragon hunting school, Hiccup and Toothless discover the true meaning of trust and friendship during an adventure that they will never forget. -Gabrielle Jung This was really cute movie, and I can watch it over and over again without getting tired of it. – Sydney Eckstein Average

HHH Review Club Rating: 3.71 stars

Movie Reviews

Grown Ups

Grown Ups has a funny all star cast. It's about best friends who haven't seen each other for years, meeting up again and reliving those great old times. It's not the funniest movie ever, but it's worth seeing. -Sal Liotta It was hilarious! It had great jokes, teases, and a good choice of actors to make everyone laugh. I recommend this movie for people, ages 10 and older who need a good laugh!- Kara Rofe

½ Grown Ups was hilarious. The acting was amazing by everyone. It wasn’t just another “stupid funny” movie. It is about four guys who were best friends in school, and they and their families are brought back together because of the death of their old basketball coach. Tons of laughs and is one of the best comedies I have ever seen. A great family movie. – Eric Hechler 0 stars

This movie has nothing good about it. The story is terrible, the jokes are bad, and the whole thing is pointless and makes no sense. In the movie, the main character sees the basketball team he played for about 30 years ago and they are still angry because they think that the main character’s team cheated. Also in the movie, there is a guy that is completely ripped and comes over to flirt with the wives of the main characters and his voice happens to be higher than Alvin and the Chipmunks. It’s so pointless to have that in the movie because it was just something the producers threw into the movie to take up time. Also, another thing that I hated was that Adam Sandler was in the movie, because he is such a good actor but to see him in a movie that was this bad was a huge disappointment. This movie is so bad. I only wish that nobody will ever have to see the horror that I saw that day. – Dylan DiCicco Grown Ups probably was my first favorite movie of 2010. Comedy is really a turn on especially in this movie. At first the friends reunites when the coach dies in the beginning. Then they go to a house together but Adam Sandler’s family’s trip is cut short because of the trip to Mylan. This definitely is a must see movie. It is hot a movie that I would see 5 times. - Jonathan Reichfeld

Movie Reviews Grown ups - continued Grown Ups start with a flashback of a junior high basketball championship game with best friends and teammates Lenny (Adam Sandler), Eric (Kevin James), Kurt (Chris Rock), Marcus (David Spade), and Rob (Rob Schneider). After winning the championship game by a buzzer beater, the team celebrates their victory at a lake house in Massachusetts where the Coach gives an inspirational heartfelt speech about life. Fast-forward 30 years later, the former group of friends are now grown up with their own families. The lead character, Lenny, is a successful agent with two spoiled sons addicted to video games and who text their Asian nanny for hot beverages. Abruptly, Lenny receives news that their Coach has died. The former friends reunite together for the first time in thirty years at Coach's funeral. Eric is now a heavyset furniture salesman, whose wife babies their four-year-old son. Kurt is a very feminine husband. Rob is a hippy free-spirited vegan, and Marcus is a drinker who hasn't found a wife yet. Lenny decides to rent out the old lake house for a 4th of July weekend celebration to rekindle their friendship and spend time bonding with their families. The group of families then takes a trip to a water park to enjoy even more of the outdoors. At the water park, the five friends encounter their former opponents who they played against and beat at the junior championship basketball game many years ago. The other team’s captain is a sore loser and challenges the gang to a rematch Unfortunately, the movie just does not click. The actors and weak story do not deliver the laughs. The five comedians look like they enjoyed making this movie, but the jokes run very dry with most of the laughter coming from themselves. Kevin James is funny as the “fat guy”, and Chris Rock’s character is likable too. Adam Sandler is the "regular guy”, but still acts very immature. There is not a lot of funniness in Grown Ups as jokes are overused about farts, old people, and being fat. There are a few instances where the jokes do hit their mark, but overall Grown Ups just is not funny. With a these comedians and fun idea for a reunion type movie, it turns out to be a disappointing film. – Justin Silberlust I liked this movie, it was pretty good and it was pretty funny. Overall, it was an ok movie. It was funny, had some moments, and had a good moral. But really it was a typical comedy movie. - Elizabeth Georgakopoulos

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 1.93 stars

Movie Reviews

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader A big improvement from the 2nd Narnia, the 3rd part of the series really hits it off with action and more interesting storylines. The only downside to this movie is that we have to wait for the 4th part. Anthony Passela

This movie was decent. The 3D was mediocre at best, but the plot was pretty good. The main problem with this movie is that the older siblings (Peter and Susan) arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in the movie. The people that are in it are Lucy, Edmond and their cousin Eustace. Will Poulter plays Eustace and could have ruined a lot of the movie with his bad acting, but thankfully he gets turned into a dragon about halfway through. This is an ok movie, but I would only watch it if you have nothing better to do. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Brandon Nomberg

This movie was very exhilarating and made me jump out of my seat. If you watch, you will be fascinated by the adventures that take place. The only part of the movie that I believe would upset people was that the story did not include Peter and Susan. The whole movie revolved around King Caspian, Lucy, Edmund and the annoying cousin Euctice. Nevertheless, the movie was great and I would definitely recommend seeing it and buying the DVD. - Jason Liang

Movie Reviews

Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader continued

½ star This

movie sucks. I was very bored for the entire movie. The trailer made it look like it was full of action which made me really excited to see it, but it only ended up having three OK scenes. In the movie, they made finding the sword thing so boring. For example, they would travel to one place and find the sword then they would talk a little bit and go sailing to find another one. The stupidest thing that happened in the movie was when they find one sword and then the brother becomes obsessed with gold. Why would he be filled with greed for a minute if in the previous movie he was just fine not being rich? – Dylan DiCicco

I did not really like this movie as much as the first. There was too much talking and not enough action as much as the first two. The 3D was okay, but it didn't make it any more special. I felt this movie should have had more action. -Elizabeth Georgakopoulas

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.05 stars

Movie Reviews Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole This movie was the worst movie of 2010. It did not have a good plot, and when it started to get good, it just didn't last. A terrible movie from Zack Snyder. This is one of the worst movies ever. -Joseph Stone

¼ star

Secretariat In all the years since Secretariat won the Triple Crown, it never really occurred to anybody to make a movie about this great horse. So leave it to Disney to make another “Good vs. Evil” long shot kind of movie. The movie was slow to develop, but as it goes on, and the horse begins to race, the action picks up. Disney also tried to put the idea of this horse bringing a nation rattled by the Vietnam War and Watergate together, which actually doesn't end up ruining the story as much as you may think. A couple good laughs help to break the silence of sad emotions, like the main character losing both her parents, her daughter becoming a "hippie" type war protestor, etc. Yet goose bumps are sent up the sleeve when you see the horse thundering down the track and you hear the hoof beats as the horse surges to victory. Good casting of Diane Lane and John Malcovich. All that, plus memorable quotes and a happy ending give this drama 3 stars -Anthony Passela

Movie Reviews

Vampires Suck

I'll tell you this straight from my heart...This movie was way BETTER than The Twilight Saga. I thought this was one of the best spoofs I've seen! It had all of the same characters, except they were hilarious! They were really making fun of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. This is a whole new story for Twilight! Even though there were some unusual parts of it, Vampires Suck was a great movie! -Justin Zelamsky Vampires Suck was worthless trash and was not worth seeing. The only good thing about it was some of the scenes were funny. It was very short and only made me laugh in some scenes. It did not make you want to laugh your heart out and it was horrifying!!! DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE!!! In my perspective, it was not that funny, but I can't stop you from watching it. It is not worth it - Trust me..... - Jason Liang

Vampires suck is really funny. This movie, although a little “dirty,” is really funny and has a lot of ‘lol’ moments. – Sydney Eckstein

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.33 stars

Movie Reviews Nanny McPhee Returns The reason I rated this movie 2 1/4 stars is because it didn't really catch my attention. It was just a plain movie. It wasn't exciting, and it wasn't really funny. It was so plain that I was able to predict the ending in a snap. I have to admit, it wasn't that bad of a movie. It would probably be funny for kids 10 and under. -Justin Zelamsky

Unstoppable ¼ Even though it felt like it never ended, Unstoppable was great! It was action-packed, which I love. I thought it was different how it switched to the same people, but in different places. It was cool to know as I was watching, most of this happened in real life! It made you feel like you were in the action and drama. If you like action movies, you should see this movie. -Justin Zelamsky

½ Fun and entertaining. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

Red

Red was so good, I had to see it again! W hat I really liked about Red was even though there was lost of action, all of the action was funny. Nothing in this movie was predictable, which I love. I love the scenes, and the funny people that they met. The end had a good twist, that of course, was funny. If you like action-comedies, you should see this movie. -Justin Zelamsky

Red is an action, comedy about retired CIA agents getting back to their jobs so they can try to live their lives without disturbances. The movie did stand up to being an ac tion and a comedy. Most movies that call themselves that can not. There is a love interest in the movie - even though the guy was supposed to be in his 60's or 70's and she was around 30 or so. My friends and I found that a little weird. It was a really good movie and I recommend it to everyone. Sal Liotta

Movie Reviews Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ½

Never before have I been so confused, but so interested in a movie. If you watch it, there will be a few moments where you just have to pause it and think. Over all though, it had a very unique idea and story and it was funny. As confusing as it was, I felt it was a pretty good movie and I would recommend it to everyone, especially those into classic video games. - Sal Liotta

I have to admit I was not expecting much, but this is a clever, modern movie. The directors know their audience, and they hit it right on the head! – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews Little Fockers ½ star

Little Fockers was not very good. Not very good at all. Almost all of the comedy comes from one joke that wasn't even funny after the 20th time. The characters weren't interesting, and the story line was boring. -Sal Liotta

OK, we got the joke already – “Fockers” – ha ha. Enough of these movies. Meet the Parents had its moments, but the sequel was pushing it. Little Fockers has pushed me over the edge. Enough!!! – Mr. Bund

1 star

½ star This movie was terrible! This movie should also be called "a waste of my time". It was pointless. The only thing is that there were few jokes. These jokes are pretty hilarious but the rest of the movie was 2 thumbs down. - Justin Wieder

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 0.67 stars 35

Movie Reviews

The Other guys

I really loved The Other Guys. It was full of laughs, many more than I had expected. I thought the whole thing would be a total failure. It is a great story about two cops that can never get along, but they become the best of friends through this comedy. There was a perfect amount of action and a great plot to go along with it. Great acting by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg through the whole movie. - Eric Hechler

A hilarious movie filled with foul language and comments, explosions and car chases. This movie shows what it's like to be a cop of action or be the cops on side lines. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg were the perfect people to play the role of the cops on the sidelines-Spencer Goldberg I have one word to describe this movie: WOW! This movie was the perfect mix of a ton of comedy, action and a little bit of everything else. Will Ferrell is amazing (what a surprise), while Mark Wahlberg is awesome. I couldn’t believe how amazing this movie was. I went into the theater thinking that it would just be a stupid comedy, but it was more than that. It was a movie that was not only funny, but kept me and probably everybody else in the theater on the edge of their seats the entire time. This isn’t just your ordinary comedy; this is a phenomenal movie. It was stupid, without a doubt, but it was still amazing. If you didn’t see this movie, sit your butt on the couch and get it on demand. It will be worth your while. – Brandon Nomberg

½ This movie was funny, but sometimes it was whacked. – Paul DeCarlo 36

Movie Reviews

The Other guys - continued Now, normally, you'd think that a cop movie would be about the awesome, top-of-the class cops, but this movie isn't. It's about: the other guys. From Mark Wahlberg getting mad at Will Ferrel, to Will Ferrel smacking Wahlberg on the nose with a wooden gun. This movie 8is great for a laugh. Unfortunately, Wahlberg getting mad at Ferrel is half the movie, and the plot is fast-paced and stupid, but I give it an A for effort, but a B- for everything else. - Neil Shah

Â˝ A few good jokes but just plain boring. Let's face it Will Ferrel is over rated and Mark Whalberg has no character outside of being a jerk. The story is original and the jokes are funny, but the writing is just so boring. - Nick Frankel Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.58 stars 37

Movie Reviews

Green Hornet ½

It was funny, it was cool, it was interesting. This was one of the only okay movies I've seen in a while. I would recommend it. - Sal Liotta

I thought it was okay, but it was predictable. It was a typical “superhero but seen as a criminal” movie. It was funny at times and it definitely kept you awake. I did not like the ending though, because it left the audience just asking more questions. Overall, it was pretty good. - Elizabeth Georgakopoulas

The Green Hornet was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually pretty good! I thought that it would be a fake, unfunny action movie that nobody would want to see. I was wrong. Even though the action was very futuristic, it was still good. It wasn’t very funny, but the little comedy it did have made it a little bit better. The graphics were pretty good. They were smart with what they put into the movie, like the technology. That car they had was so cool! It can do almost anything. I rated this three stars because it had good technology, good graphics, good actors and a great story! – Justin Zelamsky

Enjoyable. This movie was ok. The plot was not great. It was

about a man whose father dies and he uses his gadgets to become a superhero. Although the action scenes were great the rest of the movie was not very interesting. This movie was not terrible but I wouldn’t see it twice. - Stefan Desroches

Movie Reviews

Green Hornet – continued It was pretty good. It had some good action scenes. It was also funny because the head honcho bad guy killed everyone who displeased him. The end was also unexpected. So, overall it is worth seeing but is nothing special. If the storyline was a little stronger, the movie would be a little better. - Jake Geller

Because I have a younger brother, my family and I see all of the comic book and superhero movies. Usually, I don’t like them. However, The Green Hornet is an exception. This is a big budget action film written by the lead actor, Seth Rogan. The movie is based on a classic TV series that originally starred Bruce Lee. Rogan plays Britt Reid, a very rich, lazy man, whose father is the owner of the Daily Sentinel, a big newspaper in Los Angeles. Britt is wasting his life. He has no job, does not go to school and lives off of his father's money. This behavior upsets his father. After his father dies from a bee sting, Reid teams up with his father’s auto mechanic, Kato, to not only run the newspaper but to fight crime in LA. Britt wants to prove his father wrong by becoming a hero, the opposite of the lazy man that he was. So Britt and Kato plan to become vigilantes in disguise by wearing costumes and masks. Kato, played by Jay Chou, is fantastic as an in-house mechanic/engineer/barista/martial arts expert/ and “human Swiss Army Knife”. His fight scenes are quick and fun to watch. As a brilliant engineer, Kato creates multiple versions of the Black Beauty Car which can change color from black to white, rides on two wheels, shoot machine guns and fire balls, explode and has an ejector seat with parachutes. The fight scenes were entertaining and so were the bad guys, such as Chistopher Waltz playing Chudnofsky. The opening scene, played by a cameo appearance by James Franco, is amusing. As expected, there is a fight scene between Britt and Kato over a girl, Lenore, played by Cameron Diaz. The final scene is a rampage, police chase through LA which ends up at the Sentinel offices which basically get destroyed by the Green Hornet and the bad guys chasing them. One of my favorite scenes included the Black Beauty car driving up the elevator. We did not see the 3D version, but this was modern and funny and entertaining for all age groups. - Kara Rofe

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.75 stars

Movie Reviews

The Spy Next Door The plot was lame, and predictable. It’s another Russia vs. USA movie. However, the stunts and special effects were OK. - Sam Leifer ¾ It’s a good movie with a surprising betrayal. With a little more action, it would’ve been great. It’s also kind of funny. You should see it. – Jake Geller This was a pretty good movie. Jackie Chan is very good as a spy named Bob, who tries to juggle being a spy, earning his girlfriend’s kids’ trust, and keeping his girlfriend. I thought that this would be a really stupid movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. This movie would have been even better if the other actors had “chipped in” more. It was pretty funny, but not hysterical like most people thought it would be. – Brandon Nomberg

½ This movie was OK, but it was very predictable. If

you like comedy mixed with action, you should definitely go see it. – Nick Kohlhepp Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.44 stars

Movie Reviews

'The Tillman Story ½

This documentary of the true story of Pat Tillman -- the NFL star who was killed by "friendly-fire" in Afghanistan -- is sure to leave audiences angry, upset and confused. As you watch the family's attempts to find out what happened to their son/husband/brother, you'll be shocked to see how the government could cover up what happened to him in his final moments, and you'll feel their frustrations and grief as they watch Tillman's death get turned into media spin for a highly politicized war. The film asks uncomfortable questions, first answering "How did this happen?" in all its depressing truth; however, it’s the pursuit to discover "Why did this happen?" that will last with you for a long time. – Mrs. Carlsen

Avatar the Last Airbender This movie was TERRIBLE!!! If you’ve ever watched the TV show “Avatar the Last Airbender”, you’d know what I mean. There was absolutely no humor or sarcasm originally in the TV show and the 3D was just a waste of money. The visual effects were pretty bad and I was BORED TO DEATH! I almost fell asleep and I was extremely disappointed by the movie as a whole. What idiot let this be produced!? This was a complete waste of money and time. There was absolutely no humor or fun in this movie at all. The movie was killed by the acting; most of the actors pronounced the names wrong and the movie overall was awful. I hated it and I am scared to even imagine what a sequel will be like for this movie. - Gabrielle Jung

Movie Reviews

Despicable Me Great is a word that sums this movie up perfectly. This movie was a good mix of comedy and emotion, to apply to all ages. It did get a little bit silly at times, but that’s okay when you consider that seven year olds were the targeted audience for this movie. This is another Dreamworks classic. – Anthony Passela

½ star

I honestly did not like

this movie at all. It is cute for kids up to 8 years old but there’s really no point in seeing it otherwise. Throughout the movie there may have been 1 or 2 funny moments, but that was it. Overall, the movie was cute for little kids but don’t waste your time watching it. – Elizabeth Georgakopoulas

This movie was hilarious. In the movie Gru is an evil scientist who is trying to take over the world, but then adopts children for one of his plots but falls in love with them. The people, or should I say the things, that made this movie funny was the little yellow minions. A great movie - period. - Matthew Garber Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.83 stars

Movie Reviews

Tron: Legacy

This movie was fantastic. The story was great. I have never seen a movie like this. Sam gets sucked into a video game while investigating on his father’s disappearance. He is forced to participate in the game as a player soon to discover that is father was in the video game world (Tron) all along. This movie has tremendous special effects. Most of the movie is computer generated. The world of Tron has a cool futuristic look that is made up of many lights including the suits the characters where in the movie. It was much better than I had expected. - Stefan Desroches

Eclipse

½ star How do I start? Oh how about just plain boring, and stupid! During half of the movie Bella kisses either Jacob or Edward. Really! Does she have anything better to do? I went in the theater with very low expectations and came out even lower! It was just terrible. Bella Swan

Edward Cullen (the vampires) but loves Jacob Black (the wants

marry

werewolves) too! OH WHOM CHOOSE? That’s basically movie. Overall, it was a bad worry if you don’t see it - you anything. – Tara Ranjbar

WILL SHE the whole movie. Don’t will not miss

Movie Reviews

Dinner for Schmucks Dinner for Schmucks didn’t have a strong plot and wasn’t well developed, but that’s not why this is only 2 stars. The movie was a little weird and not consistent. The 10 minute battle between Steve Carrell and the “Guy From The Hangover” was the only good part, besides from that and Carrels character, this movie is a huge disappointment! – Paul DeCarlo

Dinner for Schmucks might be the funniest movie I've seen in a long time. Really stupid, but other wise hilarious. This is mostly because of Steve Carrel, aka the main schmuck. The rest of the cast was funny to, but if you’re going to see it, see it for Steve Carrel. - Sal Liotta

You laugh until your throat hurts, but it's incredibly stupid. The jokes make you laugh, but you walk out just feeling stupid. You will lose brain cells watching it. - Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

The Tooth Fairy ½

In this movie Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is a hockey player who sustained a injury and is always destroying kids dreams. He then is summoned to be a tooth fairy to realize something. After his time of being a tooth fairy, his life is turned around. He then sees that living in the past won't get you anywhere. I recommend this movie for families with young kids. - Matthew Garber The Tooth Fairy was about a hockey player, name Derek Thompson, (Dwayne Johnson) who routinely crushes kids’ dreams, such as being a rock star, a famous hockey player, or believing in the Tooth Fairy. One night, Derek tells his girlfriend’s (Ashley Judd) daughter that there is no such thing as the Tooth Fairy. As his punishment, he is sentenced to two weeks of being a Tooth Fairy by the Queen of the Tooth Fairies (Julie Andrews). The Tooth Fairy was cute and funny, but would be best enjoyed by children ages 5-9. There were a few funny moments, such as a brief appearance by Billy Crystal as a wacky fairy, but overall, not the best movie ever. – Kara Rofe

¾ stars

Yikes! What a stupid movie. It may entertain younger kids, but not me. Just not good… - Paige Botie

Are you kidding me? I really like The Rock, but yikes! This is good for young kids, but not for the rest of us – Mr. Bund

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.08 stars 45

Movie Reviews

Iron Man 2

First thing first I saw this my eight grade class then again with my friends and I still walked out saying that the first was better. I don't know how some said it was better because I got lost half the time during the second time I watched and I knew what was going to happen. As most superhero movies go the hero is pursued by the government to turn over his suit because of national security and of course the Russians are trying to take the suit as their own. For probably the fifth time the first one was better-Matthew Garber This is an OK film starring Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. It has great graphics and special effects but a plot that is very easy to figure out because we basically know what is going to happen. So if you’re looking for a great action movie with a little comedy, look somewhere else. – Ananth Nagaraj

½ The movie was funny sometimes and had

bright spots but its just shooting up people and getting drunk in a metal suit with some witty comments on the side. – Paul DeCarlo Overrated! The first one was good, but this was just lacking in every department. At least we have another crappy sequel to look forward to. – Mr. Bund Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.38 stars

Movie Reviews

Salt

Salt was a exciting action packed movie that made you believe the IMPOSSIBLE! Angelina Jolie’s best performance yet. I mean “Wanted” was an alright movie, but Salt is one of her best performances ever! Angelina Jolie plays as Evelyn Salt an FBI agent - or is she? This exciting movie tells a Russian story about a Russian spy named Salt who will go to New York City and kill the Russian president to start world domination. But this Russian agent walks in on a FBI agency and tells them that exact info. So then Salt goes on the run to prove her innocence or her so called Russian side. You don't want to miss this action packed movie full of betrayal, romance, and of course ACTION! - Brendan Jaghab O.K. for a suspenseful action movie. Angelina Jolie is a good actress but it was too confusing. She switches sides so many times that I can't keep up. The idea of it sounds great, but they ruined it by trying to be clever. - Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

The Bounty Hunter The Bounty Hunter was pretty good. It had some funny characters, a decent plot, and a few good jokes. I’ll get straight to the point: It’s good but it’s just another comedy, nothing new or anything. Whoever was quoted saying “It’s as good as the Hangover” in the preview should be fired. If you are bored and there is nothing to do, go see it. It is ok, but if you don’t your not missing much. – Paul DeCarlo

Date Night ½

This movie was good. Both Steve Carrel and Tina Fay did good. The plot was good. The jokes were good. If you want to watch it, go ahead you’ll laugh some, but Tina Fay and Steve Carrel disappointed me in what could have been the best comedy duo of the decade. It was just “good.” – Paul DeCarlo

Movie Reviews

Sorcerer’s Apprentice ½ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice feels like a rip-off of common fantasy action movies, like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson & the Olympians. However, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice isn’t comparable to the other two. The movie is about an average college guy named Dave. Dave first had an experience with magic when he was a kid. He believed it to be real at first, but ended up being embarrassed in front of his class. Ten years later, Dave is an adult, and found his childhood crush. He starts trying to impress her, but a magical wizard named Balthazar comes, and tells Dave that he needs to save the world from an evil wizard. The wizard makes Dave his apprentice. Will Dave save the day? The pretty much summarizes the movie. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice had a pretty basic plot that didn’t feel new or fresh. The action was acceptable for a fantasy movie, and the magic looked decently realistic, and not too cheesy. The movie was way too predictable. Even a preschooler would know what would happen next. The first half of the movie was boring, because there was scarcely any action since Dave was still learning how to use magic. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice combined standard fantasy action with an uninteresting plot. This movie was everything that you’d expect from the commercials, and nothing more. - Matthew Bielskas

I was expecting so much more. Sorry, but this was just not good. Jay Baruchel’s over-acting over the top whimpiness and incessant whining was like listening to chalk screeching on a chalkboard. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

The Dilemma

This movie was absolutely horrible. Sure, it is a little funny, but the plot is so bad that it ruined the whole movie. Most of the movie was very stupid, pointless and a little bit predictable. Do not – I repeat - do NOT – see this movie if you can help it. – Brandon Nomberg The Dilemma is a comedy. From the start and by looking at the commercials, the story looked very funny. It started out with a lot of hope and promise and popular actors, but it just was not that funny. The story is about two friends, James and Vaughn, who work together designing car engines. James' character is married to Wynona Ryder (Geniva.) They appear to have a great marriage and are very happy. In fact, Vaughn's character, Bobby Valentine, idolizes their marriage and relationship. While out on a walk one afternoon, Vaughn sees Geniva kissing a very handsome man played by Channing Tatum. There lies the Dilemma. Does Vaughn tell his best friend that his wife has a boyfriend? Vaughn is tortured by this decision. He sneaks around and tries to take pictures of Geniva and her boyfriend. He fails and gets caught by the boyfriend and a big fight ensues where a fish tank is broken and fish come flooding out. The film director, Ron Howard, took all the funny parts and put them in the commercials. Some of the themes are too adult for middle schoolers. I vote pass and don't wait for the video either. – Kara Rofe

Movie Reviews The Dilemma – continued

This movie was OK. This was definitely a movie NOT to remember. The plot was pretty basic. The movie was hilarious. Though, Kevin James & Vince Vaughn were great characters & made the movie have the up-moments. This movie isn't the must see but it is pretty good. - -Justin Wieder Overall, this is a great movie. Vince Vaughn was pretty funny in addition to the storyline. The storyline was good and there was even a little action. The ending was a bit surprising. Worth seeing. - Jake Geller

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.13 stars

I am Number 4 Boring. There were a few good parts, and it was interesting, but the plot was simple. The actors were good, but the movie was still just not very good overall – Justin Wieder

The beginning was EPIC, but the end was really bad. It was filled with action the whole entire movie. A movie I think you should put on your list. – Daniel Chacko 51

Movie Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Like all the other Harry Potter movies, I couldn’t wait for this one to come out. The storyline was exciting and unpredictable. It was a great action movie with great special effects. I’m looking forward to seeing Part 2. This is a must-see movie. – Kara Rofe Here it is… the finale of the Harry Potter series. It is the end…well, the first part anyway. That’s right! One story told in two parts. The suspense leads to an ending that makes you want to see the second part. I think this was a really good movie. You will enjoy it even if you never read the books. The whole gang is back, trying to save Harry Potter from Voldemort. They do not return to Hogwarts so many of their troubles take place elsewhere. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are traveling to destroy the horcruxes of Voldemort. The movie had action, love, adventure, and even has some humor in it. Also, a lot of secrets are revealed from the past movies. You learn to trust no one. The movie starts out in a meeting as Voldemort, the leader of the group, discusses how to kill Harry. Everyone who was sitting in the room has planned to kill Harry. Everyone wants him gone. Harry has to hide, of course, and with the help of his friends, he learns many things. Harry, Hermione and Ron travel place to place in an effort to keep safe. This movie was 2 hours and 26 minutes which allows for many events to take place. The surprise ending has a cliff hanger. You leave wanting to see the second part right away. Does Voldemort end up killing Harry? Does Harry and his friends kill all 7 horcruxes of Voldemort? Is everyone safe? Many answers will come when you see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Also, don’t miss the total ending in Part 2 which comes out in 2011. I recommend this movie to all…even if you haven’t followed Harry Potter. Hope you enjoy the movie! - Dana Winthrop

Movie Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1-continued This is it; the beginning of the end! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is only half of the thrilling finale. Right away the movie kicks off with a thrilling broomstick chase through the streets of London. This story is unique because this movie doesn’t take part in Hogwarts. At the end of the sixth book/movie Dumbledore told Harry to seek out the horcruxes and destroy them. In this movie, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out to accomplish this task. On the flip side, Voldemort and his followers are trying to kill “The Boy Who Lived” (Harry). Through forests and mountains these three travel extensively during their quest. Death eaters, swords, and in the midst of it all a doe patronus. What will happen at the end? And what will take place in the second part? Watch to find out. The finale is packed with so much adventure that it had to be made into two movies. It had romance, adventure, and fast paced action. What would Harry Potter be without action? Also with the snake Nagini, it was scary and thrilling too. This movie had only a few faults. One fault was in the forest chase, the camera (while acting as a POV) was shaky. It was a little dizzy and also confusing. Also, sometimes when the characters talked (and they talked a lo t); it was hard to understand. Otherwise it was a great movie and I recommend it to all. Want to know more? Then hop on your broomstick, get your wands, and owls, and go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. - Ryan Winthrop

Movie Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1-continued Â˝ "SPOILER alert" - The movie was very good and very fast paced. Everything was great, but just one thing. I believe that they should have not put a "big scene of chasing" right in the beginning. They should have put the part in the middle or end. They also should have added more fighting scenes with the Deatheaters instead of with two dudes and a snake. But I greatly look forward to Part II where there is going to have more fighting scenes because of the tragic end of Part I where Voldemort steals/gets the most powerful wand, the Elder Wand. Overall, the movie was not that good but not that bad. I recommend seeing the movie. -Jason Liang This movie was really good compared to the others. I heard that after the second or third movie they changed directors and the movies just went downhill from there, but this one was really good and kept me on the edge of my seat. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sydney Eckstein

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 3.10 stars

Movie Reviews Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book vs. Movie Book-

Movie-

The Percy Jackson book series are great. It’s all about a twelve year-old who has ADHD and dyslexia. He also is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and a mortal, which makes him a demigod or half-blood. He, another demi-god named Annabeth Chase (a daughter of Athena), and a satyr named Grover go on adventures together that save the gods from wars and fighting. Now, if you’ve never read these books and saw the movie, you might think it was pretty cool. But, if you’ve ever read the series, you would be downright MAD. First of all, not all the characters are mentioned. Just a few are: Clarisse La Rue (a demi-god daughter of Ares), Ares (the war god), Dionysus (the camp director), Travis and Connor Stoll (other campers) and Kronos. All these characters played some sort of role in the books, but were not even spoken of in the movie. Kronos was supposed to be the cause of all the chaos, but wasn’t in the movie at all. I can’t even imagine there being more Percy Jackson movies because the plot was so weak in the first movie. Overall, the action was pretty good, but, yet again, it was much more different and better in the books. Gabrielle Jung

Movie Reviews

Unknown

"Unknown" is movie is about a guy who gets into an accident, has his identity stolen, and is unsure of who he is. With the help of a few people, he goes through an adventure to find his identity. I liked "Unknown". It was very serious and the plot remained interesting as well as unpredictable until the end. The acting also was very good. I didn't expect there to be much action, but there was quite a bit of it and it was realistic. It reminded me of the "Bourne" movies. I would recommend this movie to adults and teens, but because this movie is serious and the action intense, it would not be appropriate for younger kids. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Matthew Bielkas

Lottery Ticket Â˝ star Seeing the movie Lottery Ticket is a complete waste of time. Who ever made this movie should get the award for worst movie of 2010. It was painful to endure. It did not show what you really can do if you won the lottery. All you saw was people trying to steal all the money. It is better staring at the four walls of your house all day then watch this Spencer Goldberg

Movie Reviews

When in Rome This was a very useless movie. You should not watch it. All it is about is a girl that gets drunk, picks some coins from a fountain and the guys that put the coins in the fountain are following her around. It is really boring. Please save yourself and don’t see this movie! This was very predictable. You literally can watch 30 minutes of the movie and you will know what is going to happen. The guys that fell in love with her were always following her around. I got really annoyed. Really, really annoying. It is a typical romantic comedy movie. It wasn't even funny. I don't blame the actors and actresses. I blame the person that wrote the script that made the movie so bad. They could have made it 10 times better. – Tina Ranjbar

Killers A spy falls in love with a beautiful girl, but an unexpected visit from an assassin changes their plans. This was an amazing story with a great plotline. – Sydney Eckstein

Fun, but it could have just been better. Tom Selleck does a good job, but Ashton Kutcher just did not do it for me. A typical romantic-comedy. You are not missing anything here. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

Valentine’s Day ½ This movie was hilarious! It had great actors who had likes and dislikes of Valentine’s Day. The bad thing is that it had so many peoples’ different point of view. It got a little confusing. But along the way I found out so many secrets and it got exciting. I would definitely recommend this movie to kids 10 and up because of its language and action. - Kara Rofe’ The movie was…cute. It was funny. It was worth spending my money for, but it did not meet my expectations. With actors such as George Lopez, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Biel, any fan of good Hollywood movies would not be able to resist. Valentine’s Day follows different people – flower sellers (George Lopez and Ashton Kutcher), a jock and his dance team girlfriend (Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift), a teen desperate to save her relationship with her boyfriend (Emma Roberts), and many more. Overall, it was pretty good, but not great – Tahra Friedman

I thought that the movie Valentine’s Day was just OK. It was funny at times, but I felt the overall movie had too much going on, and was hard to keep up with. Of course, each actor’s life in this movie finished with a happy, fairytale like ending. Although the movie wasn't to great, I think the actors and actress are what people like in it. I personally don't think Valentine’s Day is worth seeing again or even at all. - Victoria Korine

The perfect chick flick? Save it for a date night at home.–Mr.

Bund

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.25 stars CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS???: Julia Roberts appears in Valentine’s Day for a total of only about 3 minutes! New Line Cinema paid Roberts $3 million up front against 3 percent of the gross for what is little more than an extended cameo. That comes out to an astonishing $8,333 per second of screen time, or roughly $500,000 a minute. Verbally, it's a minimum of $11,952 per spoken word. ( http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/julia_roberts_valentines_day.html)

Movie Reviews

Nightmare on Elm Street ½ In this remake of the classic slasher film, a dead Freddy Krueger haunts the dreams of the kids of the people that killed him. If you die in your dream, you die in real life. Even though it was a pretty good movie, there were a couple of stupid parts. I mean, I know the characters haven't slept for days, but I can't understand falling asleep while you swim. Overall though, it was pretty good. - Sal Liotta

It’s Kind of a Funny Story ½ star

I thought this movie was terrible! It was not funny at all! The movie was about a kid who tries to commit suicide. He feels like nobody loves him so he goes to a mental hospital. He meets a guy and becomes friends with him and helps him get out. He also meets a girl that is interested in his personal life. I thought that there was nothing funny about this movie and there were some very dull parts. This could have been a hilarious movie, but it wasn’t. Even though there were a few famous actors, they weren’t acting very well. Don’t see this movie! – Justin Zelamsky

A depressed teenager admits himself into a psychiatric ward, falls in love, finds a mentor (Zach Galifianakis from the Hangover) and gets a new perspective on life. It is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is a clever script. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

The Karate Kid

Opening early this summer, I saw one of the latest Hollywood remakes, The Karate Kid. This is a new version of the 1984 film. As far as remakes go, this story is close to the story of the original, but includes some key differences such as location and age of “the Kid”. In this version, “the Kid”, Dre, played by Jaden Smith, is a true kid, around age 12 and not an older teenager. The setting in the remake is China and not California. Dre and his mother, played by Taraji P. Henson relocate from Detroit to China. Shortly after moving to China, Dre meets a cute girl and gets bullied by nasty classmates, led by Cheng. The local maintenance man at Dre's apartment building, Mr. Han, played by Jackie Chan, is a kung-fu master, and after saving Dre from another Cheng beating, begins training him to face his rivals at an upcoming tournament. This is a more serious role for Jackie Chan and he gives a good performance, especially in the scene where he becomes drunk. Overall, the scenery is beautiful including the mountains, beaches and Great Wall of China. The movie is very long, over two hours, and includes many intense, vicious and realistic fighting scenes. Dre is beaten many times at school before Mr. Han helps him and starts training him. The story is predicable and you cannot help routing for the underdog. – Kara Rofe

½ The Karate Kid was a very good movie. It was very exhilarating and wanted to make you jump up and down shouting "Yes!!!" The Karate exemplified perfection and it was a wonderful movie. The creators of this movie were very smart to make a new movie of the 1984 Karate Kid. I have watched both old and new, but the 2010 Karate Kid was greater than the 1984 movie. Everything was perfect about this movie except for the title. I get how they wanted to create a new movie based on the 1984 Karate Kid, but this movie was nothing about karate. Same storyline, but a different martial arts. In my perspective, the 2010 Karate Kid should be named "The Kung-fu Kid." Anyways, the movie was great and you MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!! - Jason Liang

Not too bad, but I still prefer the original. – Mr. Bund

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.58 stars 60

Movie Reviews

Megamind Megamind is the newest Dreamworks Animation 3D release starring Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, and Brad Pitt. The story is a little twist on the basic superhero movie by telling the story from the point of view of the villain, Megamind. (Spoiler Alert ahead!!!) Will Ferrell is the lead voice of Megamind, an alien sent to Earth when his home planet was destroyed when he was an infant. As luck would have it, Megamind lands in a prison yard and is raised by the prisoners. At the same time Megamind’s home planet is destroyed, his childhood rival, Metro Man, voiced by Brad Pitt, is also sent to Earth. While Megamind lands in prison, Metro Man finds a home in a local mansion. Their early childhoods sets up a lifetime of rivalry between Megamind and Metro Man. Throughout adulthood the two settle into a routine of Megamind escaping from his jail cell, capturing reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) and Metro Man ruining his plans and locking him up again. Eventually Megamind’s plan finally succeeds, and Metro Man is destroyed. This plot twist surprises everyone. After Metro Man is destroyed, there is no one to challenge Megamind and he ends up getting everything he has ever wantedmoney and control of Metro City. However, he is bored and needs to be challenged. Megamind sets out to create a new superhero. The plan backfires. Megamind finds himself teaming up with Roxanne to save Metro City is from Titan, the newly created hero, turned bank robber and villain. As expected, “beauty” falls in love with the “beast” and good overcomes evil. It’s a good thing that this movie had some very talented voices, because it was just not that funny. I wanted to like it, but it was very predictable and not that funny. Little kids, like my 7 year old brother will love it though. – Kara Rofe

Megamind is a fun, family, easy to understand movie. It was really simply a bad guy and a good guy with some simple twists. The gadgets the “Mind” uses are really cool; it entertained my entire family. The movie does a good job of making it likeable for all ages. I highly recommend this for all ages and for family movie night. – Jason Rose

Movie Reviews

The Predator Series Predators ¾

This was a good attempt at making a scary movie, but some scenes were pretty funny. The movie was quite predictable, and I was able to guess what would happen next most of the time, but some parts were completely unexpected. I would recommend this movie to anyone that likes a good sci-fi movie. – Ananth Nagaraj

Predators just came out this past year and it was pretty good especially considering its most recent predecessor. It takes place on the Predator's planet. Several strong people are placed there from Earth for the Predator's hunting season and to see how it plays out. It is definitely worth the time to see it. - Sal Liotta

Predator

1987

Predator was a great movie. A classic if you are a Schwarzenegger fan, and out of the trilogy it is easily the best - hands down. It’s about some of the army's best soldiers being sent into the wild to find out about mysterious disappearances. Out of the whole movie, I don't really have anything bad to say about it. - Sal Liotta

The original Predator is a Schwarzenegger classic! It starts as a shoot’em up action flick, but an alien turns the hunters into the hunted. Well-done! – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews The Predator Series-continued

Predator 2 This was definitely the worst movie out of the three. It took out two major great parts from the first movie, the jungle, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. That plus other reasons all add up to a lousy movie. It is a huge waste of time to see. - Sal Liotta

Âź

Overall Overall it was an o.k. trilogy, but the Alien series was much better and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give me any of that AVP garbage. Everyone knows the movies stunk. I just wish they were a little closer related. I mean change the predators to some other creature and you have 3 totally different movies. - Sal Liotta

Movie Reviews

YOGI BEAR I went to see Yogi Bear because my seven year old brother wanted to see it. Yogi Bear, for those who don't know, was an animated kid cartoon during the 1960's. It was very popular at the time and it was my father's favorite show. Despite the bad reviews that I read before we went to see the movie, I went anyway. Sadly, if you are a little kid, like my brother, give the movie two stars. If you are a little older, stick with one to 1 1/2 stars. The animation is cute but the story is very predictable. The characters and the plot are very similar to "Furry Vengeance" released over last summer. The voices are cute and sound like the characters from the old TV show. The movie is a mix of animated animals, like Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo, and real people, like the park rangers and the mean Mayor Brown who wants to sell off Jellystone Park, home to Yogi and Boo Boo. The mean Mayor tries to sell off the park and hide endangered species living in the forest. Yogi, of course, after many mishaps, saves the day. Very predictable and not so funny either. The best part of the movie is the location. The forest scenery and the rivers are very beautiful and were filmed in New Zealandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Woodhill State Forest. Overall, I think long time fans of Yogi might be a little disappointed. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kara Rofe

Movie Reviews

YOGI BEAR - continued

From our youngest reviewer – Aaron Rofe – age 7 – Vanderbilt Elementary School 65

Movie Reviews

Tangled Â˝

"Tangled" is the 50th animated Disney film. It is also a film about a Disney princess. I saw it on its opening weekend with my family in 3D and we enjoyed it. Tangled is based on the story of Rapunzel, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, is a beautiful princess. When she was an infant, Rapunzel was kidnapped from the king and queen by an old lady, Gothel, voiced by Donna Murphy, that wants Rapunzel because her hair has healing powers. Gothel wants to use Rapunzel's hair to keep her young forever. Gothel raises Rapunzel as her own daughter and keeps her in a tower her whole life, while never cutting her hair. By the time Rapunzel is close to her 18th birthday, she has a lot of hair. Rapunzel wants to celebrate her birthday by going to see the floating lanterns from the kingdom, but Gothel tells Rapunzel that she is not allowed to leave the tower EVER. On the day of Rapunzel's birthday, Gothel leaves to buy her some paint supplies as a birthday gift. While Gothel is gone, Rapunzel plans to leave the tower to see the lanterns. Meanwhile a thief named Flynn Rider, voiced by Zachary Levi, gets chased by the kingdom's guards after stealing a crown. Flynn runs from the kingdom and looks for someplace to hide and finds the tower that Rapunzel lived in. Flynn goes inside the tower and meets Rapunzel, who hides the stolen crown and tricks Flynn into taking her to see the lanterns. Ultimately, Rapunzel learns that Gothel is not her mother and is evil. Flynn turns out to be a good guy and not a bad thief. Overall, the movie has good storytelling, enjoyable songs, memorable characters, and humor for everybody to enjoy, as well as some cute and smart animals including a white horse and a lizard. I liked all the songs and the scene with the lanterns floating over the kingdom was very beautiful. As in all Disney films, the princess does fall in love and lives happily ever after. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kara Rofe 66

Movie Reviews

Tangled – continued ½

This movie is the twisted version of Rapunzel. A girl, princess at birth, is kidnapped and locked into a castle. For eighteen long years she is locked in her castle with her loving and honest “mother”. Rapunzel longs to see where a group of floating lanterns appear from and why they always appear on her birthday. She receives a chance to find out when Flynn Rider, a dangerous but charming thief, climbs into her tower. She steals his robbed goods and makes a deal to give them back to him if he will her escort to and from the lanterns. He reluctantly agrees and they go on a journey. But, Rapunzel’s “mother”, Gothel, being manipulative and witty, has much in store for Rapunzel and Flynn. Trust is the bond that Flynn and Rapunzel share, a strong bond that will be tested during their treacherous and surprising journey. - -Gabrielle Jung

Movie Reviews

Gnomeo & Juliet Cute and humorous, but a little predictable. Obviously, being a kid movie, there was going to be a happy ending where everything is perfect, but I did enjoy it. The movie was the story of Romeo and Juliet, but in a gnome version. There is a rivalry between two groups, the red gnomes and blue gnomes, and a forbidden love between Gnomeo (a blue) and Juliet (a red). It had a great plot, and I was impressed that they included a statue of Shakespeare that told his story and gave advice to Gnomeo. I thought that including characters with the same names as the original characters was smart and clever (Tybalt and Juliet). It was a great movie with a clever plot. I loved the modern added parts and European accents. Although it was a little predictable, it was a great movie that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. - Gabrielle Jung

Movie Reviews

Gnomeo & Juliet - continued Gnomeo and Juliet is a story that you have heard before, a lot. You are warned at the beginning of the movie. The story is being told again, but different. The new Disney animated film is based on the Shakespeare play of "Romeo and Juliet" starring garden gnomes. The music is set to many songs of Elton John to which the gnomes dance and sing. Gnomeo and Juliet live in the backyards of feuding families. Gnomeo lives in a blue garden, and Juliet lives next door in a red garden. The blues and reds do not mix and are enemies. The film is set in England where gardening is very popular. In order to gain supremacy in the garden, both Gnomeo and Juliet seek out a rare orchid in another neighborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden. Away from their families, the two meet and fall in love over the orchid with Elton John music playing in the background. The movie can be seen in either 3D or not. We did not see the 3D version. However, the animation is good and very colorful. The artwork of the gnomes is very realistic including the texture of the cracking pottery. The characters are cute and there is a lot of action. There are some jokes that small children will not understand but will make parents laugh. The voices include a wide range of talent and Dolly Parton, Hulk Hogan and Ozzy were a surprise. At the end, as expected, Gnomeo and Juliet get married in a "Holy Matrignomey" ceremony. Overall, the movie was very cute and recommended for kids of all ages. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kara Rofe

Movie Reviews

The Tourist ¾

The Tourist was a very interesting movie. It keeps you thinking every step of the way, with tons of surprising plot twists. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp were both great. A lot of great action too, that keeps it exciting the whole time. The movie is about an innocent tourist (Johnny Depp) who is made out to be someone that he is not, and gets caught up in the life of the man that everyone thought he was, and ends up running and fighting for his life. - Eric Hechler

Shrek Forever After ½ star

“Worthless!” This movie was a major disappointment! This was the last Shrek movie, so I was expecting it to be the best movie out of all of them, but unfortunately, it was horrible! I found this movie to be quite boring and predictable. It was a let down and a waste of time. Claudine Desroches

Not as groundbreaking or entertaining as the original, but it had its moments. Nothing too unexpected here though. Just another Shrek movie – ho-hum – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

Gulliver's Travels ½

This movie is about a man who wishes to live a better life. When sailing, he accidentally discovers a hidden island that is inhabited by people the size of action figures. Compared to them, he is a giant. In his old life he was a coward, but because of his size he's able to defend the kingdom of little people from attack and is considered to be a hero. I didn't think that this movie was very good. Even though Jack Black had a few good jokes, the movie wasn't enough to keep me interested. The special effects were decent, and the size comparisons between the characters were believable. I would recommend this movie to elementary school kids, but people over the age of 11 may not like the movie as much. – Matthew Bielskas

Original movie vs. new movie Original

2010 version:

When I saw the new Gulliver’s travels, I thought it was great and really funny. After watching the original movie, I thought about how much better it was than the new movie. They were different but they had the same idea. It was about a traveler who finds a land of little people. In the original film, Gulliver not only travels to a land of little people, but he also travels to a land of giants, a flying island, the land where horses rule and humans are the animals, and he travels to a place where he meets a sorcerer. The original movie was much more exciting than the new movie, which was shorter and had less action. – Anya Pawar

Movie Reviews

Just Go With It ½

This is a predictable romantic comedy plot, but I liked it and would recommend the movie. Adam Sandler plays a Hollywood plastic surgeon who has been pretending to be married for the past 20 years as a way to safely meet women. One night at a party, he meets Palmer, played by Brooklyn Decker, and he falls in love with her. Palmer thinks he is married and will not date him until she meets his wife who he claims to be divorcing. The doctor asks his office assistant, Katherine, played by Jennifer Aniston, to pretend to be his wife so he can date Palmer. Katherine has two children and is also divorced. The doctor takes the whole group - girlfriend, wife and pretend kids - on a trip to Hawaii so they can bond. During the trip, the doctor and assistant realize that they love each other. Like I said, predictable. However, the kid actors were cute and did a good job. Brooklyn Decker is very beautiful and for her first film she was very natural. There were some funny scenes that had us laughing very hard such as a hula contest where the contestants picked up coconuts with no hands (guess what they used), and one scene where a sheep gets sick and one of the characters gives it CPR (sheep P R, get it?) – Kara Rofe Critics bombed it, but I liked it. – Justin Wieder

This movie was extremely funny! This movie is about a plastic surgeon name Danny who pretends he is married and tells women that his wife beats him, won't help him, etc. Then he meets a woman who he really likes and she finds Danny's wedding ring. Danny lies, saying that he’s going to file for a divorce with his "wife." Then Danny asks his assistant to pretend to be his wife. As Danny continues, the lies keep piling up into one big mess. As the lies go on, there are some hilarious moments and messed up plastic surgeries that will get people to crack up. This is a must see!

Movie Reviews Robin Hood I’m sorry, but this movie just comes up empty. The battle scenes are impossible to comprehend through the storm of jolting images, and the rest is clouded by campfire smoke and endless yards of fabric obscuring the people wearing it. Someone falls down, arrow through the neck, and we’re supposed to feel something. It was just these continuous blurry battle scenes through the whole film. Everyone loves a good battle scene, but it has to be good and the rest of the movie has to have content. Also, there is little effort to engage us to the characters. Once you start to get into a character and their role, they get impaled. It’s a blurry, incomprehensible mess and works on a mind numbing template of battle, battle, battle, battle, moment, and battle. There is no time for recovery between battles so none of it makes the slightest bit of sense or inspires any emotion. I found myself lost throughout the entire movie and found myself asking, “What just happened?” There’s no acting, just choreography in endless battle scenes and the occasional punch round the campfire. In summary, Robin Hood is fuzzy, remote, and icy, devoid of feeling and a true mystery – how could a project with this caliber of cast and crew go so horribly wrong? How can the story of Robin Hood put you to sleep? - Paige Botie

A Single Man Perhaps the most frustrating movie of 2009, A Single Man has glimpses of greatness, but instead only moderately achieves its ambitions. Surrounding a story about a man who in the midst of mourning his gay lover plans to kill himself, Colin Firth is stupendous caught between a life of depression or death. The movie’s flaws lie in the over directing of director and writer Tom Ford. He tends to overuse the close-up and it can get annoying at times. But when Firth wears his emotions on his sleeve, the movie is wonderful. – Dean Essner

Movie Reviews

Shutter Island This was a fantastic movie with such an amazing twist that it leaves you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Although it was probably the best movie of the year so far, the only truly amazing actor was DiCaprio, who just was phenomenal. The events were difficult to understand, but if you were able to follow along, then you could agree the twist that only Scorsese could do was just unbelievable. Great movie. – Brett Levine

Hot Tub Time Machine ¼

As proved by Superbad, there is honestly nothing better than a raunchy comedy done well. And Hot Tub Time Machine is simply hilarious… with a funny script and few stupendously cheesy 80s jokes. Plus, when was John Cusack in a movie this good? – Dean Essner

Movie Reviews

Kick Ass

I thought this was pretty good! The violence looked real. I really liked all the flashing and strobe lights because it looked very exciting. Kick-Ass had a lot of action and was very fun to watch. I think a lot of little kids wanted to see it because a 12 year old girl (Chloe Moretz) fights in the movie and they think it’s a kid superhero movie. It’s DEFINETLY not a kid’s movie! I recommend this movie to teens 13 and up. – Kara Rofe

Nothing like you would ever expect, yet it was amazing. Very entertaining and funny! It reminded me of a kid/comedy version of The Matrix in a way. – Brett Levine The name is faithful. It sure kicks ass. However the most ass kicking part of the film isn’t in the title character…its in the relationship between the foul-mouthed child superhero of Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her violent-obsessed father (the immortal, always reliable, best actor in Hollywood when he is given a damn good movie Nicholas Cage). – Dean Essner

This movie was stupid. It was funny, but still really stupid. The plot was ok but the cast was not. – Ananth Nagaraj

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.63 stars

Movie Reviews

Alice In Wonderland It’s rare that Tim Burton misses. But Alice In Wonderland is a tepid remake that feels like a drug-addled children’s book. It has minimal fieriness, suspense and comedy. If not for Helena Bonham Carter’s deliciously sinister take as the Red Queen, Alice In Wonderland would have been a virtually worthless 2 hours of your life. – Dean Essner

Alice in Wonderland is a very cute and weird movie! Walt Disney made a cartoon version first, but this movie is a human version. Alice goes back to Wonderland, where she went when she was younger. Alice meets the red queen (who has a HUGE head) and the white queen (who has a normal size head). Johnny Depp who played The Mad Hatter did some amazing acting (AS ALWAYS). Alice meets new friends (which she met before when she was younger, but does not remember them). Also Alice needs to find who she is! Overall this was a good movie. - Tara Ranjbar

½ Everyone knows the original story, but in this film, Alice

goes back as a teen! This Tim Burton film has an amazing plotline, outstanding graphics and epic characters. But don’t you think that there was a little spark between the Mad Hatter and 18 year old Alice? – Sydney Eckstein

Oh boy, am I disappointed. This is the first time I have ever been let down by Tim Burton. Here’s the story: The trailer comes out, I go crazy, tell everyone about it, see it in IMAX and come home disappointed. It had great visuals and Johnny Depp, but everything else was bad. I think Tim Burton was a little loony when he made this. – Daniel Rudin

Movie Reviews

Alice In Wonderland - continued Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” was one of this year’s films that I enjoyed. This story is not only based off the Walt Disney version, it also is set in the future. Alice Kingsley (played by newcomer Mia Wasikowska) is now 19, and while briefly escaping her wedding proposal, she stumbles down the rabbit hole again. In Wonderland, she reunites with the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). There is a debate whether she is the “real” Alice, but the Mad Hatter assures her that she is. At the tea party, the Mad Hatter tells Alice that since she has gone, the Red Queen (Helen Bonham Carter) has taken over Wonderland. After escaping the Red Queen’s army, Alice then seeks out the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). The Red Queen and the White Queen are sisters, and completely opposite people. While the Red Queen is mean, aggressive, and big-headed (maybe she let her power go to her head), the White Queen is nice, light, and happy. The White Queen is looking for her champion, who on Frabjous Day will slay the Red Queen’s Jaberwocky, and allow her to reclaim her crown. Alice is reluctant at first, but with the encouragement of all her friends she decides to head into battle. This movie was dark, twisted, creepy, and bizarre, but then again, what would you expect from Tim Burton. If anyone can turn a fairy tale into a dark scary world, it’s him. The plot was good, and the 3-D experience made it more fun to watch. Action just jumps off the screen. Johnny Depp was excellent as the Mad Hatter, and Helen Bonham Carter did a great job as the Red Queen. I didn’t care for the performance by Wasikowska, and personally her lines weren’t that clear. But, Tim Burton raised the bar this time, and it paid off. You’re invited to a very important date, so don’t be late to see Alice in Wonderland. - Ryan Winthrop The original Disney film was my favorite Disney film and Tim Burton took it to a whole new level. Not in a bad way, but not in that good of the way. I liked it, but it was really weird. Sal Liotta

Movie Reviews

Alice In Wonderland - continued Ok, let’s face it. Alice and Wonderland wasn’t the best movie I ever saw or even “great”…it was average. Tim Burton obviously added a hint of mystery and a dose of weird. It is far from the happy, musical and lovable Disney version, I agree, but it kept me entertained. I saw this movie in 3D so it made the experience worthwhile. It is also something I can look back and remember. This movie is about Alice falling down the hole again…after 13 years! She is now 19 and it takes her a while to remember everything, and at first not everyone remembers Alice. The Red Queen is mean, as usual, and now that she knows that Alice is back, she wants her head off….which is basically all what the queen says, “Off with her head!” But, the White Queen, her sister, decides Alice is the Champion to kill the Reds Queen’s beast. With the help of her friends, like the Mad Hatter, she might be able to do it? Does she kill the beast? Does the White Queen win? Or, does the Red Queen? Does Alice stay in Wonderland? You have to go see it to find out! - Dana Winthrop Okay, when I first heard of a new Tim Burton movie in the works, I dashed to watch Edward Scissorhands and all of his other classics. But watching Alice in Wonderland, I felt a bit disappointed. This film was nearly not twisted enough to be a work of his. Sure the effects were great in some parts, but the overall story was not that creative. When you think of Alice in Wonderland you think of this Trippy-like journey into a world of talking animals and plants, but the film didn’t live up to the wonderland Disney had created decades ago. The cast was okay, with of course there was Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, two people you frequently see in his films. The film just doesn’t live up to some of Tim Burton’s best movies and I doubt would be remembered in future years. - Matthew Tierney

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.44 stars

Movie Reviews

The Book of Eli It is very hard to describe this movie. Violent would be a good start. This movie starts off in the middle of a story, in a post-apocalyptic world with very few details as to how it happened. The action is hard to describe, because you can’t see much with all of the blood and severed limbs flying around. There are a lot of things that don’t make much sense, like how they are able to make guns and bullets, and how they are able to get gasoline for their cars. In the end though, it is very entertaining, but leaves a lot of questions unanswered. – Eric Hechler

The A-Team Another movie that was a little funny and witty but it was for the most part just a shooter. A funny watch, nothing more. – Paul DeCarlo

Movie Reviews

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Diary of a Wimpy Kid was very funny and gross at the same time. The actors did a great job. I could tell that the director took some parts out or shortened them to fit the movie. The movie missed some important parts that the audience would consider adding. If the director added some other parts from the book, it would be better. Overall, the book was MUCH better than the movie. – Kara Rofe It’s fine. The book is better than the movie. – Sam Leifer

This movie wasn’t even close to special. It had the same plot, bullies, and friends like any ordinary movie. The only thing that kept the movie from being one star is how kids relate this movie to real life. This movie was first a book, and the book was a hundred times better. The thing that was the worst is that it ended too quickly. This is good as a family movie. – Justin Wieder

I liked this! As a big Wimpy Kid reader, it held up to my expectations. This described the average middle school 100%. The actors were great in playing the characters. I recommend this for a good laugh! – Evan Hirsch I thought that the book was better because it was not an exact replica of the book - you only got main parts of it. - Jason Rose

Movie Reviews

Diary of a Wimpy Kid – continued ½

I have to say it was great! In this movie Greg Heffley tells about his life in middle school. During this movie we see some scenes from the book originally written, but some new characters are added to help explain the storyline better. We see some scenes (you would know these parts if you read the first and second books) like the Halloween chase, and the Wizard of Oz play. Even though they were right with some scenes, they added new ones and left out others. All I have to say is this - it was a great movie to see with friends. - Matthew Garber I did not like this movie very much. Some parts were similar to the book, but overall it was nothing like the book. Overall, the movie was a typical middle school movie with the bullies, and the mean teachers. It was nothing special. For ages 5-9, it was a good movie. But if you are over age 10, don’t waste your time watching it. - Elizabeth Georgakopoulos

This movie was average and there was nothing special about it. The good acting helped keep me entertained. It was terrible compared to the book. One terrible thing that the director decided to do was add a new character out of nowhere. The book was amazing, so why would he want to change something that good? Also, in the movie they skipped some scenes that I was really looking forward to. But overall, it’s a pretty good movie, but if you read the book, stay away from the movie because you will be disappointed. – Dylan DiCicco

Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.59 stars 81

Movie Reviews Top ten movies (in no order) by Sal Liotta

Pan’s Labyrinth Jaws Clue Space Balls Princess Bride Wayne’s World 1 and 2 Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure Dawn of the dead (original ) Edward Scissorhands Clockwork Orange

2010 MOVIE FLASHBACKS The Academy Award for best picture in BOLD 2005 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 5 years ago Crash Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Munich Walk the Line Chronicles of Narnia Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire War of the Worlds King Kong Wedding Crashers Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Batman Begins Madagascar Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hitch The Longest Yard The Fantastic 4 Chicken Little Robots Walk the Line The Pacifier Dick and Jane 40 Year Old Virgin Flightplan Saw 2 Brokeback Mountain Monster in Law Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Are We There Yet? March of the Penguins Constantine Sin City The Interpreter Coach Carter Herbie: Fully Loaded Jarhead Cinderella Man Memoirs of a Geisha Wallace & Gromit Be Cool

2000 – 10 years ago Gladiator The Grinch Cast Away Mission Impossible II What Women Want The Perfect Storm Meet the Parents X-Men Scary Movie What Lies Beneath Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Erin Brockovich Charlie’s Angels Traffic Remember the Titans The Patriot Gone in 60 Seconds Unbreakable Me, Myself & Irene U-571 Chocolat Hollow Man Vertical Limit Road Trip 102 Dalmations Rules of Engagement The Cell Coyote Ugly Final Destination Finding Forrester Dude, Where’s My Car? Frequency O Brother, Where art thou?

1995 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15 years ago Braveheart Legends of the Fall Batman Forever Apollo 13 Pocahontas Ace Ventura 2 GoldenEye Casper Jumanji Seven Die Hard 3 Crimson Tide Waterworld Dangerous Minds While You Were Sleeping Congo Bridges of Madison County Mortal Combat Outbreak Heat Bad Boys Clueless Casino First Knight Tommy Boy Copycat Indian in the Cupboard Judge Dredd Babe Dead Man Walking 12 Monkeys Rob Roy Sense and Sensibility Toy Story

1990 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 20 years ago Dance with Wolves Home Alone Ghost Goodfellas Pretty Woman Ninja Turtles Hunt for Red October Total Recall Die Hard 2 Dick Tracey Kindergarten Cop Back to the Future 3 Presumed Innocent Days of Thunder Another 48 Hours Godfather: Part III Flatliners Misery Edward Scissorhands Awakenings Young Guns 2 Rocky 5 Darkman Predator 2 My Blue Heaven Pump Up the Volume

1985 – 25 years ago Back to the Future Rambo 2 Rocky 4 The Color Purple Out of Africa Cocoon Jewel of the Nile Witness The Goonies Spies Like Us Fletch Kiss of the Spider Woman A View to a Kill European Vacation The Breakfast Club Pee Wee’s Big Adventure Brewster’s Millions Real Genius

1980 – 30 years ago Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back The Blues Brothers Nine to Five Stir Crazy Airplane Any Which Way But Loose Private Benjamin Coal Miner’s Daughter Smokey & the Bandit 2 Ordinary People Popeye The Blue Lagoon Urban Cowboy The Shining Caddyshack The Elephant Man Tess Fame Raging Bull

1975 – 35 years ago Jaws Rocky Horror Picture Show One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Shampoo Dog Day Afternoon Pink Panther Returns Funny Lady Nashville Monty Python and the Holy Grail

1970 – 40 years ago Love Story Airport MASH Patton The Aristocats Valley of the Dolls

1965 – 45 years ago The Sound of Music Doctor Zhivago Thunderball

1960 – 50 years ago Swiss Family Robinson Psycho The Apartment 1955 – 55 years ago Marty 1950 – 60 years ago All About Eve

Movie Reviews

5 years ago – 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ½ This movie deserves a lot of credit. It is a rare example of how remakes can be better. First of all, the OompaLoompa songs proved once again that Danny Elfman is a technomusic genius. The actors were way better and now that we could train animals to do stunts, we saw a much crueler plot. Thanks to computers, we got way better special effects in this film. The best part had to be the boat ride, though. In the old film, it was made scary by lighting effects, however, the boat ride in this film was like a huge water coaster. The plot, for those who haven’t seen it, goes like this: Charlie (Freddie Highmore) comes from a low-class family. A local candy maker (Johnny Depp) holds a contest to let five lucky children visit his factory, which has been closed to the public for almost 15 years. The five lucky winners happen to be an German overweight pig (Philip Weigratz), a spoiled Daddy’s girl (Julia Winter), a competitive gum chewer and karate master (AnnaSophia Robb), a TV freak (Jordan Fry), and Charlie. One of the tour members will inherit the factory after the tour. Overall, it’s a great movie, but had its weak moments. – Sam Leifer Johnny Depp, what a guy. He always makes me laugh as he ranges from hilarious to psychotic. He was a little creepy as Willy Wonka though. If he had offered me candy I would run. Charlie was just awful. I mean, he did well, but he’s just too nice. He has no emotion. Seriously, this kid could try out for a saint. The music (not counting the one when the factory doors opened that haunted people for months) was interesting because it took you through all of the different generations of music, from fifties do-wop to eighties punk. All in all, it was memorable no matter what way you look at it. – Nick Frankel June 2010 ¼ 1 1/4 stars My parents always told me "If you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all." Therefore ................... But, in all honesty it wasn't that good of a movie. The main problem was that none of the Characters really had much of a personality, especially Charlie. Another reason is that it is really hard to replace Gene Wilder, one of my favorite actors. Especially with Johnny Depp. Don't get me wrong, Depp is a great actor, but he has a totally different style. - Sal Liotta

Movie Reviews 5 years ago – 2005…continued How does the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory compare to the original 1971 version??? Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original)

This is a fantastic story/movie! If you have not seen it by now, where have you been? Truly a great story about appreciating the finer things. Complete with a chocolate river, pink boat, annoying kids (expect one alone - Charlie), and a crazy man who runs the whole place, this surely is a great movie. Plus, it is much better than the second rendition with Johnny Depp. That version was just weird and creepy. Hate the newer version, love the original. Don’t try to ruin something that hasn’t gone bad Hollywood! This is such a great picture that we will never forget. - Paige Botie

Movie Reviews

5 years ago – 2005 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith After the horror of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clone, being just okay, this was a big step up. First the graphics, everything from the light sabers to the lava, looked amazing. I wished that I had lived in that world. Also the story, the last two episodes were more like a long T.V. Series than a continuation of an epic movie. This also gives us the answer to how Darth Vader (probably the coolest villain ever) came to be. Finally the actors, these people deserve a lot more credit. They disappeared before anyone could even learn their names. I love Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and James Earl Jones, but these guys are just breathtaking. – Nick Frankel

This is a movie full of action and a bit of romance. In this movie, Anakin grows older and begins getting seduced by the dark side. The separatists begin to crumble and Chancellor Palpatine reveals his true nature - the Dark Side. Also, when Obi-Wan Kenobi defeats General Grievous, the Jedi Council thought they defeated the separatists until the Chancellor turns on the Republic and orders Execution Order 66. All the clones kill the Jedi and the survivors take refuge across the galaxy. Sadly, after Padme discovers Anakin’s fate, she dies of a broken heart during child birth. Also, The Emperor (Chancellor Palpatine) begins building the Galactic Empire with Anakin, who is now Darth Vader. – Jake Geller

As movies progress, they become more about graphics than the story. This was good, had a nice plot, had a dark turn (seriously, does he have to kill little kids?) but the originals were so much more fun to watch.

Movie Reviews Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith continued… George Lucas has done it! He completes the Star Wars saga with a masterpiece. Thank goodness! For those of you who do not know Star Wars, it may be confusing that episode 3 out of 6 is the final chapter, but it makes perfect sense to the rest of us. After the stunning success of the original trilogy (1977’s Episode IV: Star Wars, 1981’s Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and 1983’s Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), Lucas decided to enlighten his legions of fans with the origins of the Darth Vader, the Empire, the rebellion, and so much more. Episode I: The Phantom Menace was OK, but a serious letdown. Episode II: The Attack of the Clones was better, but still nothing compared to the original trilogy, and left us disenchanted. Fans were nervous when Revenge of the Sith was released. Would Lucas deliver? It is not easy to create a film in which the fans already basically know what is going to happen, but Lucas did it, and he did it with style. The effects and cinematography were excellent, but did not dominate the movie. Some of the dialogue and acting was amateur, but others, like Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, and Ian McDiarmid as the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, were stellar. Watching Anakin struggle and eventually turn to the dark side of the force as Palpatine twists his mind is superbly done. I think after seeing this film many Star Wars fans let out a breath of relief. Was it perfect? No. The movie had its flaws, and there were scenes that were a bit weak. But overall, it was entertaining, intriguing, action-packed, and it was worthy of the Star Wars name. Revenge of the Sith tied together both trilogies, and completed the most important and greatest science-fiction series in cinematic history. – Mr. Bund When this movie came out people expected it to equal the Star Wars Trilogy of old, arguably the best 3 movies ever. I am very proud to say it is at least as good. The movies plot is precise and intricate, yet simple enough to follow. The actors had their career best performance too. Unlike Episode 2, this movie is good outside the lightsaber fights and special effects, but these are even better now and it shows. The ending fight between Anakin, oops I mean Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan-Kenobi was the best ending you could get. This movie had high expectations, and it delivered higher results. This movie is one of the best movies of the decade. It tied up a 35 year old saga that is the most famous in movie history, Star Wars. This movie had good duels, and a ton of closure. The movie isn’t just great because it’s a great movie, but its cultural significance to millions around the world makes it an epic movie. – Paul DeCarlo

Movie Reviews

5 years ago – 2005

Crash Tensions erupt when the tangled lives of a Brentwood housewife, her district attorney husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple converge over a 36-hour period in Los Angeles. Wow, who knows what will happen!? Lion Gate Films take a look at the complexity of racial tolerance in contemporary America through this movie. – Paige Botie Eight storylines intertwine in this simply fantastic movie. The way it makes you think about stereotypes and racism is thought-provoking and worthy of discussion and notice. Great movie! – Mr. Bund

Walk the Line

What good is a musician without a good back story? Johnny Cash has been through so much - Abusive father, being shot down, and death after death. Great man, great musician and great movie. - Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

5 years ago – 2005

Munich – After the assassination of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, they are systematically hunted down. ¾ King Kong – Big fun with great effects. Wedding Crashers – Lots of fun, but overrated.

The Fantastic 4 – Simply unwatchable. The Pacifier – Insulting to my intelligence. ¼ star 40 Year Old Virgin – One of the funniest movies of the decade! Sin City – Dark, comic book movie. Well done!

Batman Begins – The best Batman movie ever – until the Dark Knight came out. ½ Constantine – I love the comics-dark, deep and the supernatural, but the movie was just OK. It could have been so much more.

Movie Reviews

10 years ago – 2000 The Patriot A bit of an action meets drama movie about a southern farmer in the Revolutionary War who goes off to fight the British after they kill his son. Mel Gibson is great and the battle scenes take the cake. There's probably some inaccuracies, but the movie feels almost fully authentic. A very good way to spend a rainy day, as long as you’re not afraid of gory fighting. - Anthony Passela

Does Mel Gibson have something against the British? First it was Braveheart, now it is The Patriot. Very similar story, but too bad this was a pale comparison to Braveheart. Still, it was pretty good. – Mr. Bund

Movie Reviews

10 years ago – 2000

Castaway There are three things about this movie that are good: 1. Tom Hanks is a great actor. 2. The plot was good. 3. Wilson (the volleyball that Tom finds) is awesome. Now you ask ‘why was it a three star movie?’ Well, this movie got boring at parts like when Tom Hanks would just stand and stare at random things for two minutes. Also, Tom would just get so hurt that it got boring. This movie is still good though. – Justin Wieder

Tom Hanks never has a bad performance. This is great because it shows his true talent by making him the only actor for 90% of the movie. It’s almost a retelling of Robin Crusoe with an amazing twist on it. I love it, everyone I ask loves it and you’ll fall in love when you see it. – Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

10 years ago – 2000 Dude Where’s My Car? The perfect bad movie. Everything about it awful and stupid, but that’s why you love it. I could watch this a million times and not tire of the timeless stupidity of Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott. Any moviegoer, whether you’re looking to laugh or have your mind warped should see this. – Nick Frankel

Final Destination ½ A very strange concept for a movie, but original and well done. It’s a strange hybrid of the movies that are scary, because they could happen and for the supernatural factor. I’m not sure if it’s scary or funny, but enjoyable all the same. It’s no Exorcist, but it does send a chill down your spine. – Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

10 years ago – 2000 Scary Movie 0 Stars STUPID. BABIES DON’T FIND IT FUNNY, ALENS DON’T FIND IT FUNNY, IT JUST HURTS HOW MUCH IT SUCKS!!! – Nick Frankel

Meet the Parents This is the nicotine of movies. You don’t know why you love it. It’s not very funny or original but you just enjoy it. I’ve seen it ten times and had a straight face all those times. It’s good but feels weird. – Nick Frankel

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

10 years ago – 2000

Gladiator – It may be completely and utterly historically incorrect, but I love it! ½ Mission Impossible II – Please do yourself a favor and do not watch this junk. The Perfect Storm – Wonderful soundtrack for a pretty good ½ movie. Wonderful effects. Charlie’s Angels – dreadful! X-Men – The first of the trilogy. Good, but not great.

Dude, Where’s My Car? – So stupid that I love it! “And then….” Remember the Titans – Good movie addressing integration. A ¼ solid Dezel performance. Frequency – Very cool movie about a son from 1990’s communicating with his father from the 1960’s. Worth seeing.

100

Movie Reviews

15 years ago – 1995

Braveheart ½ Braveheart is a great movie, but is not one of the best of all-time. The movie had a good storyline and characters but it was the same repetitive thing of rallying then getting betrayed after a while. – Paul DeCarlo

One of my favorite movies EVER! Too bad Mel Gibson has fallen off the deep end. – Mr. Bund

Judge Dredd So bad you got to love it. America’s Schwarzenegger as a bad comic book hero sounds just as bad as it is. His acting is corny, the story sucks, the whole cast is terrible, but I really recommend seeing it. It’s the kind of movie that’s so bad it’s hilarious. – Nick Frankel

Let’s just get it over with and call it “Judge Dread-ful!” – Mr. Bund

101

Movie Reviews

15 years ago – 1995

Seven “Seven” is a thriller movie starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Newbie Detective Mills (Pitt) and veteran Detective Somerset (Freeman) are investigating a serial murder. They are working on two cases and then more appear. One thing in common is that written in the victim’s blood is always a sin. Some include gluttony, greed, etc. Mills and Somerset don’t get along at first and that makes the situation more difficult. After a more thorough investigation, they realize that this murderer is killing according to the seven deadly sins. Finally, agreeing to work together, they set out in hopes of capturing this criminal. This movie was certainly scary and freaky. Surprises and gunshots are around every corner. Which leads me to…I didn’t like this movie. It was eerie and gruesome. Not that I have a problem with blood (which I don’t); but there was just so much that you could fill a bathtub with it. It was so extreme that it was not necessary. There was so much horror that it got in the way of the story, and I wouldn’t watch it again. Some parts didn’t connect and were confusing. Some people may be into this stuff and may actually enjoy it. If you don’t get a chance to watch it, just forget it. You will forget it eventually. - Ryan Winthrop

One of the most disturbing movies you will ever see. It is a very good movie, but not one you can love. Also, it is not just blood and gore for the sake of shocking you – there is a very good story here. Wonderfully acted, and very clever. Well done! – Mr. Bund

102

Movie Reviews

15 years ago – 1995 Billy Madison ¼

15 years later, this movie still has some good laughs, and has held the test of time. Adam Sandler is certainly in his prime, doing what he does best, acting like a 6 year old. I've seen the movie quite a few times and some parts still crack me up, like Billy trying to write “z” in script or the late Chris Farley's sideburns and his antics as the bus driver. Let's not forget about the "O’Doyles"! So next time you've got a boring rainy weekend, don't turn on your x-box, turn on your DVD player and watch this classic. I double dare you! - Anthony Passela I love this movie. It is what stupid movies are all about. Sandler plays the perfect idiot. And the supporting cast, including Steve Buscemi and Chris Farley, are perfect. Why can’t Sandler’s movies all be this funny? Honestly, I think this is the second best movie he has done – second only to Happy Gilmore. – Mr. Bund

103

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

15 years ago – 1995

Legends of the Fall – Wonderful epic story. Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn are fantastic. Waterworld – at the time, this was the most expensive movie ever made, it was the most expensive letdown ever. It is OK to watch now, but do not go out of your way. Tommy Boy – Very funny. Chris Farley and David Spade are ¾ perfect idiots. 12 Monkeys – a brilliant sci-fi thriller. The future world is devastated by plague, so they send Bruce Willis back to the past to find out what happened. Original and worth watching. Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeleine Stowe are fantastic. Bad Boys – ugh!

104

Movie Reviews

20 years ago â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1990 Dances with Wolves "1990 - 10 years ago!! It is hard to believe that one of my alltime favorite movies is already two decade old! Dances with Wolves is not to be missed. Kevin Costner won the Oscar for Best Director and the film won in the Best Picture category. Dances with Wolves is the story of Lt. John Dunbar, a Civil War veteran who is sent to command a western outpost of the U.S. Army. He arrives to find his new post deserted, but is determined to stay and not give up his new command until reinforcements arrive. The movie is the story of a clash of cultures European/white settlers versus the Native Americans who have inhabited these lands for thousands of years. Both civilizations are dealing with many changes and Dunbar is curious about his new neighbors. Despite language and other barriers, he establishes a rapport with the Sioux tribe and comes to respect their culture. The story takes a new twist when Dunbar falls in love with the adopted European/white daughter of the tribe's medicine man, Kicking Bird. He eventually does leave the Army fort and lives with the Sioux people. Once the U.S. Army realizes that Lt. Dunbar has, in fact, abandoned his post, they pursue him. To tell anymore would give too much of the story away! Rent this movie and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the open lands of America's West. You will also learn a lot about the culture of the Native American tribes who called the West their home." â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mrs. Kane

105

Movie Reviews

20 years ago – 1990 Edward Scissorhands The movie starts out with a grandmother telling her granddaughter a story about why there is snow and it turns into an average fairy tail with a Tim Burton twist. Edward is a man created human. But, before his creator could replace his temporary scissor hands with real hands, he dies. A woman finds Edward in his mansion and takes him in. At first the town hates him. Then, they love him. Then, they hate him again. This is an amazing movie. The ending however, is a little clichéd for a fairy tail. - Sal Liotta

A boy with scissors for hands falls in love with a beautiful girl, but it can never be. This movie had an amazing plotline and amazing actors. This story was truly amazing. – Sydney Eckstein

106

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

20 years ago – 1990

Dances with Wolves – Long, but an awesome movie. Maybe Kevin Costner’s best. Home Alone – Great Christmas fun. Goodfellas – Along with The Godfather 1 and 2, this is the BEST mafia movie EVER! Pretty Woman – It was a phenomena, but overall it was just good fun. Julia Roberts plays the most likeable prostitute in movie ¼ history, and it launched her career to amazing heights.

Total Recall – classic Schwarzenegger, but not his best.

Kindergarten Cop – Schwarzenegger tries comedy, and does a pretty good job. “It’s not a too-ma!” Young Guns 2 – my favorite Billy the Kid movie

Ghost – Emotional movie of love and death. Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg really are very good.

107

Movie Reviews

25 years ago – 1985

Back to the Future Flashback to the 80’s! This movie has a little bit of everything, from comedy to action to science fiction. It is one of those movies that I can watch over and over again, and still find it enjoyable. Twenty-five years later this movie still lives on, and I will bet it still will in another 25 years. – Anthony Passela This movie was a different movie than most, because the plot involved things like time traveling. Michael J. Fox stars as Marty McFly, a 16 year old teen who gets stuck living 30 years in the past. His friend Doc builds a time machine car and when Marty was driving in a parking lot too fast, the car zoomed 30 years into the past. It was entertaining and exciting. The movie wasn’t a great movie, but it was a good movie to watch. Now Marty has to find a way to get back to the future… - Matt Avallone As a classic movie Back to the Future is a fun family movie about going back in time. The movie sucks you right in with its hook of a plot with a kind of a mad scientist dude building a time machine. His sort of partner Marty then tests it with his permission, goes back in time, and can’t get back. The humor is not laugh out loud all the time, but there are some parts where you could chuckle. I love this movie just because it’s fun to watch. – Andrew Faber

An absolute classic. Spielberg shows his originality and why his is THE master storyteller. – Mr. Bund

108

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

25 years ago – 1985

Rambo: First Blood part 2 – The first Rambo (First Blood) was a comment of the Vietnam Veterans, but now Stallone goes back to ¾ Vietnam to get some POW’s. Action-packed. Rocky 4 – Rocky takes on the USSR. The first Rocky was great! The second quite good. The 3rd was fun, but they should have stopped there. Cocoon – Aliens give some senior citizens their youth back. My ½ grandmother’s favorite! The Goonies – A kids’ classic! Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – Pee Wee Herman at his stupidest and greatest. The Breakfast Club – It should be required watching for teenagers. A nerd, jock, cool girl, freak, and troublemaker go through Saturday detention together. ½ Witness – Harrison Ford delivers a solid performance.

109

Movie Reviews

30 years ago – 1980

Airplane! This movie is probably the most hilarious film I’ve ever seen. You have to watch it about two to three times to understand it, though. It combines comedy, romance, and luck in about 2 hours. It also seems to parody a lot of movies. The plot goes like this: Ted Striker was an ex-Navy pilot who was traumatized in an accident during a war. He is now afraid of flying, however, when he tries to win his exgirlfriend, Elaine, he must fly on a plane to Chicago, where she is a stewardess. During the flight, people have a choice between having fish or steak for dinner. A bunch of people start to get sick, and they need to be taken to a hospital. A doctor on board concludes that the people who are sick (besides a termin ally ill girl waiting for a heart transplant) ate fish for dinner. It turns out that both pilots and the navigator ate fish and passed out. With no one able to fly the plane, Elaine tries to pilot it herself, and then turns on the autopilot, which turns out to be a big inflatable doll. Seeing that the only solution to landing the plane safely would be to ask Ted, Elaine finally gets him to overcome his fear and land the plane safely, winning back Elaine in the process. If you like really old movies, or just want to crack up, this would be the perfect movie to watch. Recommended for ages 10+ - Sam Leifer As one of the funniest movies of all time it just can’t be beat. Some movies come in a close second, but this movie is the king. Airplane has many famous lines and quotes like “ Don’t call me Shirley” and many memorable scenes. This movie is comedy gold that never gets old. – Andrew Faber

½ Really funny and entertaining! A must see for ages 12 and up – Paige Botie

110

Movie Reviews

30 years ago – 1980 The Shining ½

Stanley Kubrick is one of the most brilliant artistic directors of the 20th century. His talents are shown in full strength during this film encounter. It is a psychedelic thrill ride through the gates of hell. The cheap effects only enhance my love for this movie – Miles Essner

Stanley Kubrick is a perfectionist. He takes 5-6 years to write, produce and direct a movie – The Shining from 1980 is no exception. From the eerie simplicity of the Kubrick-esque red tile floor to the gold lame ballroom, to the macabre soundscape created by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, Kubrick know the right formula to toy with your emotions and ask to you fear what is behind the next door. A film, based on the Stephen King novel, is set in the Rocky Mountains at the Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), his wife and son are taking up winter residence in this secluded Summer Playground, isolated in winter by weather and impassible roads. Their loneliness is compounded by the “voi ces” and “personality” of this old hotel. History begins repeating itself as the effects of seclusion are driving Jack crazy. Special kudos to Mr. Nicholson’s performance, for which he should have received an Oscar nomination. This is a spectacularly simple horror film and a must see. – Mr. Essner

111

Movie Reviews

30 years ago – 1980 Popeye Robin Williams as Popeye…You got to be kidding me. – Nick Frankel

0 Stars

½ star

How bad was this movie? It was so bad it almost ruined Robin Williams career! In the years after Popeye it was thought Robin Williams simply could not act or develop a good movie. He called these years, “The Popeye years.” Mr. Bund

The Blues Brothers It seems that all SNL skit based movies do well. Who would’ve guessed that Dan Akroyd and John Belushi could sing? The story is decent, the songs are great, the celebrity cameos are good and not overdone, and the jokes are classic. The constant cursing isn’t necessary, but if you’re mature enough it can be overlooked. All in all, a fun movie for just about anyone. – Nick Frankel

112

Movie Reviews

Quick Reviews by Mr. Bund

30 years ago – 1980

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – Maybe the best Star Wars of them all! Definitely one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. The Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd are awesome. Can you believe that the Vatican has even recognized this movie?! You gotta love this musical ½ classic. Caddyshack – What a cast! Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase (when he was funny), and Bill Murray are great! Stir Crazy – “That’s right, we bad, we bad.” Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are a great comedic duo. The Shining – Nicholson is brilliant

113

Movie Reviews

35 years ago – 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest This is a masterpiece. A sharply acted, and sharply directed film. The movie’s story gracefully unfolds without one unneeded scene. Jack Nicholson’s Oscar winning performance was the role of R.P. McMurphy, a criminal who fakes his craziness to go to a mental institution instead of jail. This film was also awarded best picture, and best screenplay, as well as Louis Fletcher’s role as the oppressive Nurse Ratchet winning best supporting actress. This is a classic and will forever have its place in history as one of the best movies in history. – Miles Essner

Truly one of the best movies you will ever see. Jack Nicholson is simply brilliant. Here is a movie that truly stands the test of time, even after 35 years. – Mr. Bund

114

Movie Reviews

35 years ago – 1975

Jaws ½

Nowadays, horror movies are scaring us with zombies and slashers, but 35 years ago beaches everywhere were turned into ghost towns, because of this movie. Absolutely a movie that will keep you on the edge of our seat, however, if you are afraid of sharks then you should stay away. A great movie! – Anthony Passela

½ Today this is laughable and is only watched for fun, but if you put yourself into the mindset of a person in 1975 you will be scared out of your mind. The fear factor is uncanny. I promise you that you will not be able to go into the ocean for months. Aside from that, the story is gripping, the actors are great and the idea of not showing the actual shark is very original. Great movie, just stay away from the sequels. – Nick Frankel

115

Movie Reviews

35 years ago – 1975 Monty Python and the Holy Grail Very enjoyable! I thought this movie was going to be just a stupid comedy, but the jokes were actually pretty good. You’ll crack a bunch of laughs and smiles from this movie. This variety of dry humor was pulled off very well. Absolutely hilarious! - Paige Botie Stupidity has never been funnier. I don’t know how they think in England, but they know how to look like morons just enough to not make people nip-pick the scenes and just laugh until you can’t breathe. – Nick Frankel Monty Python’s best movie was easily the Holy Grail. It was funny, but had some history in it. Although at times completely random, Monty Python has managed to transform a great mythical legend into one of the funniest movies ever. It’s really is amazing that the plot takes turns from seriousness to pure comedy. This is must see but who hasn’t seen it? - Paul DeCarlo

116

Movie Reviews

35 years ago – 1975 Rocky Horror Picture Show Disney has given musicals a bad name with their animated films and the dreaded High School Musical. This is an absolute masterpiece. The songs are perfect, the actors (although they can overdo it sometimes) are fun and to this day people are still doing the “Timewarp.” It launched Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon’s careers, it still has midnight showings (which I greatly recommend seeing), and the music of Richard O’Brien is, dare I say, better than if you put John Lennon and Pete Townshend’s brains together! This is the kind of movie that people have seen until they can recite every line and I say everyone should. – Nick Frankel

117

Movie Reviews

45 years ago – 1965 The Sound of Music I am a huge fan of musicals, however, I didn’t care much for this movie since I didn’t find it special and it was somewhat old-fashioned. I gave it three stars for three reasons. 1) Julie Andrews has a wonderful voice. 2) The storyline was great. 3) It had a few funny bits. The plot goes like this. A woman (Julie Andrews) is studying to become a nun, but she realizes that she isn’t cut out for a religious life. The head nun sends her to the house of an Ex-Navy Captain to be a governess to his seven children. She realizes that the children have been living in an Army-like matter and have never heard or sang music or danced. She brings music and dance into their lives, but the Nazis are about to invade Austria, which puts the whole family into danger and hiding. – Sam Leifer

An absolute classic! This is one of my favorite movies of all-time. It had great casting, songs, choreography, and most of all, a great plot. Songs such as “A Few of My Favorite Things”, “Maria”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, and “Edelweiss” are beautiful with great lyrics and vocals. Julie Andrews steals the show with her starring role as Maria. Maria is a young postulant at the Nonnberg Abbey, is a free spirit, seldom on time, and constantly trying the patience of the nuns. Doubting her devotion to a life in service to God, the Mother Abbess appoints Maria as the von Trapp family’s governess. The movie has various moods and plot lines throughout the duration of the film and all are executed perfectly. This movie is everything that a movie could aspire to. A true work of art! - Paige Botie 118

119

The HHH Review Asks: What is the WORST SEQUEL EVER Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakal – Jason Liang Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakel, The Godfather Part III (Parents) – Jeremiah Sullivan

Alvin and the Chipmunks The Squeakel - TERRIBLE! It was a waste of money and time. Please NEVER SEE THIS MOVIE! Fockers sequel- This movie made me jump out of my seat. Literally, I wanted to jump out of my seat to leave the theater because it was that bad. The jokes were corny. The cast was good, but did not act as well as I thought they would. – Justin Wieder

1. Transformers 2 2. Toy Story 3 3. Night at the museum 2 4. Rock V 5. Jaws IV – Ananth Nagaraj

Worst sequels ever Jaws 2-4 It was the movie that scared a generation and made people scared to go in the water. But the sequels did little to give anyone nightmares, although the second Jaws was not that bad, probably 2.5 stars. But after that the whole “Jaws” empire just capsized like the Orca. The third one was missing Roy Schneider, and was basically centered around Dennis Quaid’s character. The fourth and thankfully the last of the sequels was a total disgrace. The worst part of the movie was at the end, when the guy who had been bitten and dragged underwater by the shark magically surfaces to create a happy ending. What horror movie has a happy ending? – Anthony Passela 120

WORST SEQUEL EVER – continued Any of the Leprechaun sequels (should not have made the original either), also Caddyshack 2 – Mr. Sydor Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End (Tried to do too many things) – Mr. Berler

Resident Evil all of them! – Mrs. Gacek Saw 2-6 (1 was enough!) – Mrs. Prinzevalli

Rocky V – Mr. Uhrlass

Scary Movie – Mrs. Turner Jaws 2, Police Academy 2 – Mrs. Carlsen Grease Two......Saturday Night Fever 2 (whatever it was called (Staying Alive) – Mrs. Harvey

Blues Brothers 2 – Mrs. Shaw Rocky 4....5,6, and Batman w/ the Penguin – Mrs. Jedrilinic

121

Meet this issue’s Critics – continued NAME – GRADUATION CLASS

Aaron Rofe – 2021 Ananth Nagaraj – 2015 Andrew Faber – 2016 Anthony Passela – 2016 Anya Pawar – 2017 Brandon Nomberg – 2015 Claudine Desroches – 2015 Dana Winthrop – 2016 Daniel Chacko – 2015 Daniel Rudin – 2015 Dean Essner – 2012 Dylan Dicicco – 2016 Dylan Schwager – 2016 Elizabeth Georgakopoulos - 2016 Eric Hechler – 2015 Evan Hirsch – 2015 Gabrielle Jung – 2016 Jake Abulencia – 2016 Jake Devlencia - 2015

Jake Geller - 2016 Jason Liang – 2016 Jason Rose - 2017 Jason Zelamsky – 2014 Jeremiah Sullivan – 2015 Jonathan Reichfeld – 2015 Joseph Stone – 2016 Justin Silberlust – 2016 Justin Wieder – 2016 Justin Zelamsky – 2016 Kara Rofe – 2016 Kathy Kim - 2015 Matthew Bielskas – 2015 Matthew Garber – 2014 122

Matthrew Termes - 2015 Matthew Tierney – 2016 Michelle Zhang – 2017 Miles Essner – 2015 Neil Shah – 2015 Nick Frankel – 2015 Nick Kohlhepp – 2016 Paul DiCarlo – 2015 Ryan Winthrop – 2014 Sal Liotta – 2015 Seudeh Ranjbar – 2012 Spencer Goldberg – 2016 Stefan Desroches – 2016 Sydney Eckstein – 2016 Tahra Friedman –2015 Tara Ranjbar – 2016 Tina Ranjbar – 2016

Extra Special Thanks to Brandon Nomberg, Kara Rofe and Michelle Zhang for all of their typing. Brandon Epstein for his editing A very special thanks to Dean Essner. Dean is graduating Half Hollow Hills this year, and is off to college and bigger and better things. For 5 years Dean has been a major part of The HHH Review Club. He has contributed numerous articles, editing, ideas and has been a very big part in the development and continued success of the club. Thank you Dean, for all your efforts.

123

Meet this issue’s Critics Extra Special Thanks to:

ALL the PARENTS, ADMINISTRATION and PTA for their CONTINUED SUPPORT and CONTRIBUTIONS . Mr. Essner, Mrs. Kohlhepp, Mr. Faber, Mrs. Roethel, Mrs. Epstein, Nicole Soloff, and Mrs. Silberman Madison’s Smoothie Café and Francesco’s Pizza All the many teachers and administrators who have contributed their survey answers, time, help and support.

All the students from Candlewood Middle School, High School East and High School West for their contributions All Review Club members of the past who have contributed articles and are printed in this issue. This issue is now found online at the Half Hollow Hills website. Go to: Schools – Candlewood – Clubs and Activities – HHH Review Club

http://www.halfhollowhills.k12.ny. us/page.cfm?p=977519

124

Meet this issue’s Critics – continued

All reviews are the opinions of the writer. You may agree with their opinion or you may not. Some reviewers often give high ratings, while others are much more critical. Regardless, the reviewer is asked to be objective, fair, critical and as professional as possible while supporting their opinion. Many are still developing their writing and critical thinking skills, and it is one of The Review Club’s goals help these writers. If you want to express your opinion, the Half Hollow Hills Review Club always welcomes new members. Meetings for the HHH Review Club are held at Candlewood Middle School by Mr. Bund.

The Half Hollow Hills Review Club and “Off the Record” created and edited by Mr. Bund at Candlewood Middle School, Dix Hills, New York. WORKS CITED: Almost all pictures were taken from Google.com. If there are any questions concerning pictures or statistics please contact The Half Hollow Hills Review Club. 125

Wanted!!! Critics for the Review Club Attention Half Hollow Hills We need critics New members are always welcome

Movies, Music, Broadway, Restaurants, Vacations, Books,

Sports If you are interested please contact by eboard or stop by Room 710 in Candlewood MS and talk to

Mr. Bund or you can contact

Mrs. Silberman in High School East Room 105

126

127

128